Abstract:
This paper describes the use of the repertory grid technique to elicit the police trainees' and trainers' personal constructs to distinguish prevailing discourses in police training. This research is in response to a literature review of the interaction of gender, "Othering", and discourses in police organisations. Anecdotal evidence and literature reveal that pedagogical training methods are predominantly used in police training environments. Australian and international studies of police management education show a 'resistant anti-intellectual subculture' and a set of unchallengeable assumptions regarding police work, conduct, and leadership which prevents honest critical thinking. An analysis of training is pertinent given the national agenda for policing to become a profession.