Incarcerated Motherhood and the Right to Education: A Pedagogical Scoping Review

Abstract The paper, the result of a scoping review conducted within the framework of the PRIN «Phoenix. A New Kind of ‘Rebirth’ for Women and Children Living in Conditions of Marginalization», explores the condition of incarcerated mothers through a pedagogical and intersectional lens, with the aim of redefining educational and social services for women and children living in conditions of marginalization. Drawing on a rigorous and multidisciplinary methodology, the literature review identified 85 relevant international studies. The subsequent thematic analysis revealed seven core conceptual areas shared across the studies: social and institutional stigma; narratives and representations; systemic racism and intersectional perspectives; mental health and well-being; forms of agency and disempowerment; motherhood inside and outside prison; and prison policies. The findings highlight recurring critical issues across the various contexts examined: motherhood in prison emerges as an ambivalent space in which women negotiate their identities between institutional control and practices of resistance, within a penal system that remains largely inattentive to gender dynamics and the parental role of women.