Of utmost importance for the discipline the time served in prison is meant to create": The education of prison officers and the rise of penal welfare, ca 1910-1965

The purpose of this project is to analyze how the training and education of prison officers functioned as an aspect of the development of penal welfare in Sweden, c. 1910–1965.The project approach the training and education of prison officers both as theory and as practice.

The task is thus twofold as it aims to both 1) analyze the political discourse around training in penal policy in a broader sense and 2) to shed light on education in practice in Swedish Prison Service and the securing of competence at different layers in the organization.

In doing this the analysis will create new knowledge of an important aspect of penal welfare, on state education of a specific workforce and the organizing of the modern prison in Sweden.Theoretically, the project starts at the intersection of the fields of History of Education and History of Knowledge, identifying the circulation of knowledge as a key aspect of training of prison officers.

It will focus on the character of the knowledge and on the actors who define this knowledge and make its circulation possible.The project wish to contribute to an international field of research concerned with the history of the prison officer as well as to a broader discussion on penal welfare, but will also be beneficial for the historical research on penal policy and development of the prison in Sweden during the 20th century, as well as for contemporary discussions on education and training of prison personnel.