Educating for a sustainable future: police students' experiences and expectations.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Educating for a sustainable future: police students' experiences and expectations.
Authors: Sillerud, Henriette1 (AUTHOR), Boe, Ole2 (AUTHOR) Ole.Boe@usn.no
Source: Frontiers in Education. 2026, p1-14. 14p.
Subject Terms: *Police education, *Curriculum planning, *Qualitative research, *Environmental education, *Universities & colleges, Social sustainability, Environmental crimes
Abstract: Introduction: Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a legal and strategic priority in Norwegian higher education, yet its integration in police education remains unclear. This study explores how Norwegian police students perceive sustainability in their training and what expectations they have for future learning. We posed the following research questions: (1) What have police students learned, directly or indirectly, that may promote sustainable development? and (2) To what extent do Police students wish to learn more about sustainability, and in which areas? Methods: We employed a qualitative, explorative and descriptive study design, and conducted semistructured interviews with 11 police students from the Norwegian Police University College, representing all years of the bachelor program. Interviews focused on students' experiences with sustainability-related learning and their aspirations for future education. Results: Findings reveal that sustainability is not explicitly addressed in the curriculum. Social and economic sustainability is covered indirectly through content on human rights, diversity, procedural justice, corruption and cybercrime, while environmental perspectives receive minimal attention. Students expressed strong interest in more explicit and practice-oriented ESD, particularly on environmental crime, and emphasized the need to embed sustainability early and systematically across courses, linking it to operational policing tasks. Discussion: These insights highlight a discrepancy between policy ambitions and educational practice, offering improvement opportunities for professional preparedness and institutional legitimacy. Strengthening sustainability education in policing could enhance competence, support trust, and equip officers to address complex societal challenges. The study contributes to emerging research on ESD in professional education and offers recommendations for curriculum development at the Norwegian Police University College (NPUC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Frontiers in Education is the property of Frontiers Media S.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: ehh
DbLabel: Education Research Complete
An: 192287494
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Educating for a sustainable future: police students' experiences and expectations.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sillerud%2C+Henriette%22">Sillerud, Henriette</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Boe%2C+Ole%22">Boe, Ole</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> Ole.Boe@usn.no</i>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Frontiers+in+Education%22">Frontiers in Education</searchLink>. 2026, p1-14. 14p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Police+education%22">Police education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Curriculum+planning%22">Curriculum planning</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Qualitative+research%22">Qualitative research</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Environmental+education%22">Environmental education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Universities+%26+colleges%22">Universities & colleges</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+sustainability%22">Social sustainability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Environmental+crimes%22">Environmental crimes</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Introduction: Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a legal and strategic priority in Norwegian higher education, yet its integration in police education remains unclear. This study explores how Norwegian police students perceive sustainability in their training and what expectations they have for future learning. We posed the following research questions: (1) What have police students learned, directly or indirectly, that may promote sustainable development? and (2) To what extent do Police students wish to learn more about sustainability, and in which areas? Methods: We employed a qualitative, explorative and descriptive study design, and conducted semistructured interviews with 11 police students from the Norwegian Police University College, representing all years of the bachelor program. Interviews focused on students' experiences with sustainability-related learning and their aspirations for future education. Results: Findings reveal that sustainability is not explicitly addressed in the curriculum. Social and economic sustainability is covered indirectly through content on human rights, diversity, procedural justice, corruption and cybercrime, while environmental perspectives receive minimal attention. Students expressed strong interest in more explicit and practice-oriented ESD, particularly on environmental crime, and emphasized the need to embed sustainability early and systematically across courses, linking it to operational policing tasks. Discussion: These insights highlight a discrepancy between policy ambitions and educational practice, offering improvement opportunities for professional preparedness and institutional legitimacy. Strengthening sustainability education in policing could enhance competence, support trust, and equip officers to address complex societal challenges. The study contributes to emerging research on ESD in professional education and offers recommendations for curriculum development at the Norwegian Police University College (NPUC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Frontiers in Education is the property of Frontiers Media S.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=192287494
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1743365
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Police education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Curriculum planning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Qualitative research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Environmental education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Universities & colleges
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social sustainability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Environmental crimes
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Educating for a sustainable future: police students' experiences and expectations.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Sillerud, Henriette
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Boe, Ole
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 13
              M: 03
              Text: 2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 2504284X
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Frontiers in Education
              Type: main
ResultId 1