An Analytical Study of Urban Agriculture Projects: Prison-Farm Initiatives in Kermanshah (مقاله علمی وزارت علوم)

چکیده

 Urban agriculture promotes sustainable development and fosters societal participation, including the rehabilitation of various groups, such as inmates. Therefore, this research aimed to analyze the effectiveness of prison-farm rehabilitation programs in Dizel Abad Prison in Iran. The research population consisted of two groups: one with 130 inmates, of whom 97 were selected and studied through systematic sampling via Cochran's formula, and the second group included 14 managers, offenders, and prison experts interviewed through a census. The data collection instrument was a researcher-developed questionnaire based on the Kirkpatrick evaluation model. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, while its face and content validity were validated by a panel of experts. The findings at the first level of evaluation (i.e., reaction) showed that, with a confidence interval of 99%, the inmates were satisfied with participating in the urban agriculture training course. At the second level (i.e. learning), results indicated a significant increase in the inmates’ knowledge, with a statistically significant difference between their pre- and post-test scores (p<0.01). At the third level (i.e., behavior), the findings suggested that urban agriculture in prisons could lead to significant behavioral changes in inmates, with 95% confidence. At the fourth level of evaluation (i.e., results), the findings showed that although the urban agriculture training course in Dizel Abad Prison caused moderate changes in the inmates, the difference in pre-and-post-test scores was not statistically significant. Overall, the findings demonstrated that the urban agriculture training course in Dizel Abad Prison could bring about changes in inmates’ behavior, knowledge, and attitude. These findings support the potential of prison-farm programs within urban agriculture initiatives as viable methods for rehabilitation.