Looking beyond the trees: police educators’ experiences of teaching and their development as teachers Brett Shipton Master of Adult Education (UTS) Bachelor of Adult Education (UTS) Graduate Diploma in Public Administration (Policing) (CSU) Doctor of Philosophy (Examinable Thesis) Charles Sturt University (January 2018) Table of Contents List of Tables and Figures ................................................................................................ viii Certificate of Authorship ..................................................................................................... x Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ xi Ethics Approval ................................................................................................................... xi Abstract ............................................................................................................................. xiii Glossary ............................................................................................................................ xiv Chapter 1 Introduction .......................................................................... 1 1.1 Background .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Rationale ......................................................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 The journey towards community policing ........................................................... 4 1.2.2 Response of police education to community policing ......................................... 5 1.3 Significance .................................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Research question ......................................................................................................... 6 1.5 Overview of the philosophical framework informing this study ................................. 7 1.5.1 Epistemology ..................................................................................................... 8 1.5.2 Theoretical perspective ...................................................................................... 9 1.5.3 Methodology .................................................................................................... 10 1.5.4 Method ............................................................................................................ 12 1.6 Limitations and delimitations ...................................................................................... 13 1.7 Previous research: teaching experiences in higher education ................................. 15 1.7.1 Developing staff to encourage learner-centred teaching .................................. 17 1.8 Contemporary issues in police recruit education and training ................................. 19 1.8.1 Studies of teaching orientation in police education........................................... 21 1.9 Thesis Structure ........................................................................................................... 22 1.10 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 23 Chapter 2 Literature Review ................................................................ 24 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 24 2.2 Why teaching experiences matter ............................................................................... 24 ii 2.2.1 Research into teaching conceptions and approaches and its contribution to understanding teaching practice ................................................................... 28 2.2.2 Epistemological implications ............................................................................ 33 2.3 Experiences of developing teaching .......................................................................... 34 2.3.1 Teachers’ experiences of their professional development ................................ 35 2.3.2 Linking experiences of teaching and teaching development............................. 39 2.4 Police Education .......................................................................................................... 42 2.4.1 Constructivism as an alternative learning philosophy in police education ......... 46 2.4.2 The adoption of constructivist learning approaches in police education ........... 47 2.5 Police educators’ teaching and development in this role ......................................... 52 2.5.1 Review of research relating to the teaching orientations of police educators .... 52 2.5.2 Staff Development for Police Educators ........................................................... 59 2.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 62 Chapter 3 Philosophical Underpinnings ............................................ 63 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 63 3.2 Strategic Framework .................................................................................................... 63 3.3 Epistemology ............................................................................................................... 66 3.3.1 Constructionism ............................................................................................... 66 3.3.2 Social Constructivism ...................................................................................... 69 3.3.3 Compatibility of phenomenography and social constructivism .......................... 70 3.3.4 The non-dualist ontology of phenomenography ............................................... 71 3.4 Theoretical perspective of interpretivism ................................................................... 72 3.5 Methodology of phenomenography ............................................................................ 74 3.5.1 Relationality ..................................................................................................... 76 3.5.2 Data collection from a phenomenographic perspective .................................... 78 3.5.3 Data analysis in phenomenography ................................................................. 82 3.5.4 Meaning versus Structure ................................................................................ 85 3.5.5 Analytical frameworks ...................................................................................... 88 3.5.6 Intentionality .................................................................................................... 91 3.5.7 Interpretive rigour ............................................................................................ 93 iii 3.5.8 Presentation .................................................................................................... 96 3.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 96 Chapter 4 Method................................................................................. 98 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 98 4.2 Data Collection ............................................................................................................. 98 4.2.1 Interview sample ............................................................................................ 98 4.2.2 Interview Design ............................................................................................ 101 4.2.3 Conduct of interviews .................................................................................... 102 4.3 Data analysis .............................................................................................................. 103 4.3.1 The Iterative process and constructing categories of description ................... 106 4.3.2 Analytical framework for experiences of teaching .......................................... 110 4.3.3 Analytical framework for experiences of development.................................... 113 4.3.4 Further analysis in relation to analytical frameworks ...................................... 116 4.4 Ethical Issues ............................................................................................................. 117 4.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 119 Chapter 5 Results in Relation to Police Educators’ Ways of Experiencing Teaching ....................................................................... 120 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 120 5.2 Outcome Space .......................................................................................................... 120 5.2.1 How and what elements of teaching experiences .......................................... 123 5.3 Category 1 – Transferring Content ........................................................................... 124 5.3.1 The act of teaching in Category 1 .................................................................. 126 5.3.2 The indirect object