Prior research recognizes police academy education as being predominately teacher-centered, with a strong focus on the transmission of information. The research also calls for increased student-centered police education that engages students in critically analyzing and apply their learning. The literature suggests that this gap--between…

Law enforcement officers can come into conflict with suspects when they need to act fast under time pressure. Improving such a decision-making skill is a challenge in a police academy. Academies can train future officers in correct psychomotor responses to attacks by a suspect. However, the ability to anticipate such attacks, and thereby make more…

Traditionally, educator preparation programs only provide classes related to content, practical pedagogy, and classroom management. If we hope to see any level of justice in the education system, preparation programs must include courses that take an honest and deep dive into the ways in which racism shows up in schools and communities. Aspiring…

I discuss White American students' experiences of reading racism-themed young adult literature (YAL), addressing the issue of police brutality, and using the concept of intersectionality to promote social justice awareness. Based on analysis of their written reflections and classroom discussions, I argue reading racism-themed YAL with an…

Sci-fi has the power to open dialogue because its alternate world-building enables students to feel far enough from reality to discuss social problems unreservedly. In this essay, I review an assignment I developed using "Black Mirror" and "Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams" that present episodes in which militarized policing,…

The distressing events of 2020 challenged the United States to reimagine how our social institutions can and should respond to demands for racial justice. These demands impacted higher education and debates arose about whether the classroom is an appropriate place for teaching abolition. I address this debate by introducing a senior-level elective…

The purpose of this qualitative explanatory bounded single case study was to seek to understand how the use of curriculum that is influenced by experiential learning theory and based in scenario-based learning as an instructional methodology in a law enforcement academy influences the self-efficacy and job readiness of peace officers with less…

Conscientization is the process of learning to perceive sociocultural, economic, and political oppression to such extent one is moved to act against it. This transformative and liberatory pedagogy has momentous implications for social work education; as its outcome is an increased critical consciousness for both students and faculty. However, the…

This book highlights the work of Rise for Racial Justice, an organization that launched a public racial literacy campaign in 2020 when the nation's interest in exploring the history and present reality of anti-Black police violence was at a high. Protests following the murder of George Floyd focused the public's attention on anti-Black racism,…

The concept of nurture establishes the importance of supporting children's social and emotional skills, wellbeing and behaviour. As such, a Welsh Police Force implemented the "Heddlu Bach" (Mini Police) scheme in three Welsh Primary schools in the 2017-18 academic year. Using an evaluation research design, three focus groups were…

What should teachers do on the days after major events, tragedies, and traumas, especially when injustice is involved? This beautifully written book features teacher narratives and youth-authored student spotlights that reveal what classrooms do and can look like in the wake of these critical moments. Dunn incisively argues for the importance of…

The way faith is formed depends upon the zeitgeist, the spirit of the age. Faith formation cannot happen in a vacuum. It is shaped and informed by all that is happening. In our time, the COVID-19 pandemic is happening. In this essay I reflect on faith formation amid the zeitgeist of the Coronavirus, considering ways that the pandemic requires…

This reflective essay highlights the importance of project structure when teaching highly controversial topics. I review research that shows differing approaches to teaching highly controversial subjects and the impact of the approaches on learning outcomes. I then reflect on the outcomes of deploying a non-directive, peacekeeping approach to…

In this article, the authors present a qualitative study focused on preservice teachers employing a framework using tenets of critical race theory (CRT)--permanence of racism, experiential knowledge and counter-storytelling, interest convergence, and critique of liberalism--in literature study. Drawing on critical English education, critical race…

Racism is a systemic issue that works alongside white privilege, a system of unearned benefits, such as obtaining financial breaks and loans, being reflected consistently in classroom curriculum, and being assumed as the "norm." Assumptions about people with light skin include their being honest, responsible, and safe. Thus, white…