Kerry John Wimshurst

Police Education and the University Sector: Contrasting Models from the Australian Experience

University education for police officers continues to be heralded as a major component in the reform of police organizations and police culture. Interestingly, the extensive research literature from the United States over the past 30 years remains ambivalent about the extent to which education achieves these objectives. Individual officers doubtless gain personal and professional benefits, but the relationship between higher education and police effectiveness, professionalism and accountability remains unclear. Nevertheless, the Australian experience since the late 1980s is that concerted efforts to provide university programs for police almost invariably arise from periods of crisis in police organizations and the recommendations of official inquiries into those organizations. Two educational “reform” models have resulted, one based on liberal education and the other on a paradigm labeled “professional policing.” These now constitute the main (contrasting) paradigms for police education and training across different states. The case study concludes that the relationship between university education and preparation for policing is likely to remain problematic.

Feed-forward assessment, exemplars and peer marking: evidence of efficacy

The paper reports the findings of evaluative research that attempted to rigorously assess the efficacy of a feed-forward, formative assessment intervention. The aim was to improve participants’ conceptions of quality, and hence improve the quality of a complex piece of summative assessment, by asking them to mark exemplars produced by former students. Feed-forward assessment has theoretical support in the literature, but empirical confirmation has been slight. Research findings were encouraging. A statistical model incorporating feed-forward was developed which accounted for a large effect in the improvement of results for the summative item. Importantly, there was improvement across student ability levels. Students, in the main, made accurate judgements about different levels of exemplar quality, although they had some difficulty discerning different pathways to high-quality products. Qualitative analysis indicated improved student conceptions of coherence and integration in the summative piece.

The impact of institutional factors on student academic results: implications for ‘quality’ in universities

This paper situates the topic of student assessment and the moderation of assessment within a broader context of policy debates about the quality of teaching and learning in universities. The focus and discussion grew out of a research project that aimed to investigate factors related to academic success and failure in a Faculty of Arts. The study, initially, identified a range of student demographic and biographical factors significantly related to academic success and failure. However, there was also evidence of pronounced differences in grading practices between different components (courses, programs, schools) within the institution. The paper explores the implications of such inconsistencies for the institutional mechanisms and processes that have typically been advocated as sufficient safeguards of quality. It concludes that the tendency of governments and other stakeholders to now champion performance indicators, along with the shifting focus towards quality ‘outcomes’, are likely to increasingly throw the strengths and weaknesses of institutional assessment practices into stark relief.

Personal and institutional characteristics of student failure

There is a limited literature on academic failure in higher education despite the fact that failure is a common experience among undergraduates. Student and course characteristics were examined in relation to proportions of fail grades assigned in a Faculty of Arts. Concerns had been expressed that combinations of two grades, F (failure to reach a satisfactory standard) and FNS (failure to submit assessment work), resulted in high fail rates. Regression analyses indicated that students assigned higher proportions of fail grades tended to be male, Indigenous, younger, had lower entry scores, had deferred fees, were not full‐time day students, lived at home, and had histories of incomplete studies. However, university entrance score was the strongest predictor of F, while being male and deferring payment of fees were the strongest predictors of FNS. Variations in awarding types and levels of fail grades were evident between schools in the faculty, indicating different grading practices. The findings suggest that personal and institutional factors interacted to increase the risk of academic failure for these students.

Applying threshold concepts theory to an unsettled field: an exploratory study in criminal justice education

Criminal justice education is a relatively new program in higher education in many countries, and its curriculum and parameters remain unsettled. An exploratory study investigated whether threshold concepts theory provided a useful lens by which to explore student understandings of this multidisciplinary field. Eight high‐performing final‐year students in a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice degree were invited to identify and reflect on one powerful concept that helped them make sense of the field. Analysis indicated three subgroups with different conceptual encounters. There was evidence that multidisciplinary professional fields are characterised by bounded and unbounded generic thresholds. While the article comments on current criminal justice education, it raises concerns for multidisciplinarity and threshold concepts research more broadly.

Blue Tunics and Batons: Women and Politics in the Queensland Police, 1970-1987

During the 1970s and 1980s, policewomen in Queensland experienced dramatic changes of fortune under two different commissioners. Under Commissioner Whitrod (1970-76), the percentage of policewomen went from below the Australian national average to twice the national average, and women were integrated into general duties and the seniority list. Women in Queensland began entering policing in large numbers at a time when those in overseas jurisdictions and other Australian states were struggling in small numbers to make inroads. In the period immediately following, under Commissioner Lewis (1976-87), the proportion of women police was cut to almost half the national average. This paper analyses the changes that took place in the recruitment and career experiences of policewomen during these years.

Criminal Justice Education, Employment Destinations, and Graduate Satisfaction

Abstract The article addresses the lack of sound empirical research both overseas and especially in Australia on the outcomes of criminal justice education. The very limited research on graduate outcomes is potentially problematic at a time when governments are increasingly calling for program accountability and evaluation in higher education. The article reports on an empirical study of one criminology/criminal justice program that investigated the employment destinations of graduates. Principal components analysis and regression analyses were used to explore graduate satisfaction with their degree. There was evidence that educational outcomes were important considerations when alumni evaluated their degree. However, findings indicated that satisfaction varied considerably between occupational groups and was influenced by employment experiences and perceived ‘success’ in the workforce. The article addresses various themes emerging from the findings and identifies the need for further research across other programs on the outcomes of criminal justice education and graduate destinations.

Attitudes of criminal justice students to Australian indigenous people: Does higher education influence student perceptions?

Over the past 10–15 years Australian universities have established degrees for those who wish to work in the criminal justice system in areas such as policing, corrections, and crime prevention. This paper explores the sensitivity of undergraduates to issues of race and diversity. It investigates the beliefs that criminal justice students bring with them to university, their readiness for content that focuses on Aboriginality, and whether their views change in ways over time. The study finds that policing majors are more negative than other criminal justice students and that, in any case, there tends to be little change in attitudes over time for students as a whole. To explain these findings, the paper then looks at the teaching of indigenous issues in Australian criminal justice programs based on a survey of program convenors. The consensus is that pedagogy/curriculum in the area lacks thoroughness and rigour when confronting the complexities of the problem.

Anticipating the Future: The Early Experiences and Career Expectations of Women Police Recruits in Post-Fitzgerald Queensland*

This study investigates the recent large-scale entry of women into policing in one Australian state following a period of supposed major organisational and philosophical reform in the Queensland Police Service It focuses upon the early experiences of women recruits and their thoughts about their futures The research literature shows that women have usually encountered considerable resistance when trying to establish themselves in police organisations both locally and overseas In view of this, an important aim of the study is to try to determine whether there are any signs of fundamental change for women entering policing in the 1990s The evidence suggests that while men and women entrants have much in common, there are some significant biographical and anticipatory differences The study concludes that continuity rather than change is likely to charactense the experiences of women entering policing, obstacles to full integration persist The situations of women recruits are discussed under five themes which encompass continuity of experiences, physicality, exclusion, ambivalence and coping strategies.

Entering Youth Justice: Comparing the Views of Human Services and Criminology Students

Abstract The present paper explores how undergraduate students who are relatively new to the field of youth justice conceptualise their possible future work roles. The research compared the views of students who were commencing two undergraduate courses (subjects) concerned with working with young people. One course was taken by human services students and the other was taken by criminology students. Findings indicated that there were significant differences between these two groups in terms of their views about crime causation, as well as how they see the roles of youth justice workers. Students entered their respective programs and youth courses with differing professional orientations. The findings raise some intriguing questions at a time when universities and employers look to the potential benefits of “double degrees” and “joint degrees” that span supposedly complementary professional areas. However, contrasting beliefs about “troubled and troublesome” young people may resist easy accommodation within the same program of professional preparation.