Actor-Directors: The Working Lives of Prison Governors

Abstract

Prison Governors are both actors and directors within the Prison Service. They fulfil key roles at the boundaries of individual prisons and the wider contexts: organisational, social and political, within which prisons function. In this thesis I study aspects of the working lives of nine Governing Governors of public sector prisons in England and Wales from a performative, role-playing perspective. In addition to this I utilise two recently developed models to provide frameworks for examining two key areas of Governors’ roles: those of leadership and of well-being.
I use literary collage and imaginative writing to present and interpret interview material together with self interviews and reflection on my experiences as a Ph.D. researcher, enabling me to show how my research developed and how I have developed as a researcher.
In concluding my thesis I make a number of recommendations in the areas of leadership learning, well-being, further research and research methodology.