Policy ideals for a reformed education

Abstract

Purpose-This study aims to examine how subgroups within a cohort of Swedish police students value different types of curricula content (i.e. new competencies versus enduring ones) in the context of the currently transforming landscape of basic police training. Design/methodology/approach-Drawing on a Swedish national survey (N = 369), the study examined variations in how students value new versus enduring police curricula content based on sociodemographic factors. Specifically, factors such as student age and gender and the institutional arrangements of education were tested using an independent t test. Findings-The study identified differences in values based on gender. Female students valued competencies such as communication, flexibility, diversity and decisiveness as more important in an educational setting than did males. Fewer differences were found in relation to institutional arrangement, and in-house students valued flexibility and communication skill as more important for educational curricula compared to university-based students. No differences were found in relation to age. Originality/value-This study adds knowledge to the question of how changes in occupational education policy develop in practice. More specifically, the study explored how students in educational programmes value new versus enduring competencies and whether differences can be identified based on sociodemographic factors. These questions are important because they expose sociodemographic conditions that influence how students value policy-driven skills versus enduring ones.

Formation of the Professionally Significant Skills and Competencies of Future Police Officers during Studying at Higher Educational Institutions

“…The result of the training of police officers is an increase in the level of professional readiness for the effective performance of official activities. The content of professional training significantly influences the choice of methods, forms, and technical means of training (Kohlström, Rantatalo, Karp, &Padyab, 2017). Only when the tasks, content, forms, and methods of the pedagogical process constitute a coherent logical system, when a teacher thinks over the connections between these components and selects their rational options,the desired result can be achieved.…”

Work Values of Police Officers and Their Relationship With Job Burnout and Work Engagement

“…We have pointed out that knowledge about individual work values in police officers is insufficient. Past studies mainly focus on work values among early stage career officers (students and cadets) (Hazer and Alvares, 1981; Zedeck et al, 1981; Sundström and Wolming, 2014; Cuvelier et al, 2015; Kohlström et al, 2017). The associations between work values and other work-related aspects have been relatively well-investigated, but little is known about the relationships between work values and job burnout and work engagement in police officers.…”

The New Police Training System: Psychological Aspects

“…Understanding how the police professional identity changes over the course of the police career can help to inform more deliberate and targeted training to help officers avoid burnout and improve the quality of policing for both citizens and police (Schaible, 2018). Enduring areas of police education programs in many countries are currently complemented by new subject areas that have been created due to the perceived need to provide upcoming generations of police officers with generic competencies and a "conceptual apparatus" adjusted for increasingly complex task environments (Kohlström et al, 2017).…”