Police and Adult Education.

Overview & Synopsis

The literature on adult education for police is reviewed and criticized. Among the publications that have been influential in debating the need for police education are Charles B. Saunder's "The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society" (1976), which endorses the Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement's recommendations regarding the vital necessity of police education. The author suggested that role definition, needs assessment, and public awareness have been obstacles to police education. In "The Quality of Police Education," Lawrence W. Sherman elaborated on the findings and recommendations of the National Advisory Commission on Higher Education for Police Officers, which undertook a national survey of police higher education programs, an appraisal of police personnel needs and resources, and review of the literature. One of the Commission's recommendations was that the majority of federal funds for police higher education should go to programs with broad curricula and well-educated faculty rather than to narrowly technical programs. Sherman considers the liberal arts apporach preferable to the two-year, vocational/applied approach or the four-year college criminal justice program approach. In "Redefining the Discipline of Adult Education," Robert Boyd and Jerold Apps propose a new model for viewing adult education. The first dimension concerns the nature of the learner's situation; the second dimension concerns who will primarily benefit from the educational activity; and the third dimension concerns the system (personal, social, and cultural). It is suggested that "Redefining the Discipline of Adult Education" should be read in conjunction with "The Quality of Police Education" or any other reading in police education. (SW)