“Being a topic expert is not sufficient”: a mixed-method analysis of teaching dynamics at the Tasmania police academy

ABSTRACT

In unpacking the results of an in-depth longitudinal program evaluation, and in light of literature on police education, we analyse the various elements that contribute to the dynamic delivery of teaching in a police academy. A mixed-method analysis of 5 years of student evaluations enriched with the views of police education managers, coordinators, and educators provides an overview of the circumstances in which educators teach police recruits, the dynamics which unfold when teaching police, and the necessary characteristics for educators when addressing a police audience. This analysis positions the Tasmanian model of police education as an interesting case study in the midst of relatively critical literature about police education, and even more cautious studies on higher education partnerships in policing.

KEYWORDS:

• Police
• education
• university
• academia
• evaluation
• teaching

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Excerpt from focus group.

2. This latter point is beyond the scope of this paper, however, and the authors will address this elsewhere.

3. These evaluations are designed by the police academy education designers, and run by the Police Academy, independently from the university. At the end of every teaching day, recruits are invited to grade and comment on all the classes / educators that they had that day. The Police Academy education designer then sends each educator their teaching evaluations, which can then be filed as evidence of teaching performance, including annual academic performance for university lecturers.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brianna O’Shea

Brianna O’Shea is a PhD Candidate in Criminology at the Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies (TILES) and a Teaching Fellow in Police Studies in the Politics and International Relations Program. Her main research interest is stalking. Brianna has a Bachelor of Behavioural Science majoring in Psychology, Criminology and Behavioural Neuroscience and a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in Criminology from the University of Tasmania. Brianna is also currently working as a Criminology and Cybercrime Tutor at the University of Canberra. Before commencing her Teaching Fellowship, Brianna provided supplementary tuition to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students studying University award level courses. She received the Australian Postgraduate Award for her PhD study titled ‘The Investigation and Prosecution of Cyberstalking in Australia’.

Isabelle Bartkowiak-Théron

Dr Isabelle Bartkowiak-Théron is a senior researcher in the Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies (TILES), School of Social Sciences, at the University of Tasmania. As the head of police recruit training for the University and the Tasmania Police Academy, she specialises in policing interactions with vulnerable people, police education and the nexus between law enforcement and public health. She is the recipient of several research and teaching awards, all focused on police education, police education scholarship and police education research. She is a member of several policing research governance bodies, including the Tasmanian Sentencing Advisory Council, and is the executive member of Australian Crime Prevention Council for Tasmania.