Abstract:

In recent years, the Swedish Police Authority has aimed for growth and increased volumes of police students. Thus, in response to the expectations of the Police Authority, new forms of training programs have been developed at the university’s police education sites, hoping to attract more students.

The police education unit at Umeå University now offers four different educational options, including both campus-based education and various semi-distance alternatives, aiming at different target groups. The work to develop these new training programs has taken on the character of an action-research project. New programs have been designed, evaluated, and adjusted based on the experience gained. The study draws from empirical material gathered during a five-year period. The material includes a large number of course and program evaluations where students have given feedback on course structures and program designs. Empirical data have also been collected from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with 17 teachers responsible for different courses.

The study describes the innovative forms of education that have emerged from recent years' work with educational design, as well as the action-research process. The challenges that come with dealing with resource-intensive vocational training are also elaborated. The semi-distance training programs have been well received by the students and are now the dominant form of police training in Sweden. Based on the results presented in this study, it is suggested that a promising next step in the development process could be a hybrid educational structure outside the established notions of campus or web-based teaching.

Keywords:

Vocational training, police education, web-based teaching, education design.