An Analysis Of Instructional Design And Teaching Methods Of Law Enforcement Ethics Education At Community Colleges
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Date
2015
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Advanced Studies, Leadership, and Policy
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Doctor of Education
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This item is made available by Morgan State University for personal, educational, and research purposes in accordance with Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Other uses may require permission from the copyright owner.
Abstract
As concerns of disciplinary actions against law enforcement personnel increase, there is a growing interest to examine and refine the instructional design and teaching methods of ethics education for law enforcement personnel at community colleges. The literature suggests that there is no evidence of a standard curriculum or/and approach to teaching law enforcement ethics education, and there can be a variety of different ways that ethics education is developed and delivered by community colleges and other agencies. This descriptive study examined: (a) the profile of community colleges that host law enforcement academies, (b) the extent that directors used Clark's instructional design model components, (c) the extent that directors perceived the use of Clark's instructional design components to be effective, (d) the extent that directors used Prevost and Trautman's various teaching methods, and (e) the extent that directors perceived the use of Prevost and Trautman's various teaching methods to be effective. The results of this study revealed that law enforcement academies are using many of Clark's instructional design components and Prevost and Trautman's various teaching methods to develop and deliver ethics education. Both instructional design and teaching methods used were perceived as effective by the directors of such programs. The findings suggested that academies are not always involved in the assessment and evaluation processes of instructional design and the development of various teaching methods used. The data also revealed that most States or agencies' Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) may not be assessing or evaluating the effectiveness of curriculum development and delivery regularly with assistance from community colleges' faculty or the end users. As a result, recommendations from this study include: (a) a need for directors to work closely with the POST to increase the assessment and evaluation process of ethics education curriculum development and delivery, (b) conducting more research on the outcomes of ethics education linked to law enforcement practitioners' behavior, (c) interviewing the instructors who teach ethics education regarding their role in developing and delivering ethics education and its effects, and (d) surveying the POST to determine their specific role in developing ethics education curriculum.