Research project When police education is conducted within universities, new challenges emerge for teachers in reconciling scientific knowledge with policing experience. The project examines how police educators navigate the intersection between academia and practice, and how this affects the content of teaching and the development of professional knowledge.
The project examines the role of police educators in a police education program integrated into higher education. Through interviews, the study analyzes how teachers with a policing background balance academic requirements and professional experience in their teaching. The study contributes increased knowledge of how professional knowledge develops at the intersection between universities and the police organization.
Police education in Sweden has been integrated into higher education institutions with the aim of strengthening the professionalization of policing by combining research-based knowledge with practical professional experience. At the same time, this transformation entails new challenges in how teaching is organized and how different knowledge traditions intersect.
The project focuses on police educators’ experiences of this form of education. These educators often have extensive operational experience while working within an academic environment. The study examines how they perceive their role, their own professional development, and how they manage expectations from both the university and the police organization.
