Learning Style Preferences of Law Enforcement Officers: A Quantitative, Non-Experimental Study

The primary goal and focus of law enforcement training is to ensure each agency provides relevant and accurate training. Understanding the learning preferences of local LEOs can enhance both the teaching and learning experience. However, the learning style preferences of local LEOs are not well understood in current literature. The specific problem is the law enforcement community has traditionally used a school-based teaching-and-learning paradigm in the classroom that tailor their in-service training to meet the needs of the agency instead of meeting the needs of the individual learner. Research shows this method of instruction has been scrutinized for its inability to tailor to individual learning style preferences and does not reflect the realities of operational practice. The two-fold purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative research study was to provide further understanding of learning style preferences, and if a relationship exists between learning style preferences and demographics, within the law enforcement community. An ex post facto research design was also chosen for this study. Both the VARK preference instrument and a demographic survey were utilized in this study. The purposive sample was selected from LEOs employed with HCSO, located in Harris County, Texas, during mandated in-service training. A total of 163 participants completed both surveys. Results revealed local LEOs preferred a kinesthetic learning style preference. Based on the results from this study, two recommendations were made: the law enforcement community should abandon their current traditional in-service teaching methods, and the law enforcement community should incorporate more kinesthetic exercises and scenarios into their in-service curriculums. Furthermore, results revealed a statistically significant relationship between learning style preferences and both the age and military experience demographic categories. Future research might include the investigation of learning style preferences among additional law enforcement agencies of various sizes. Future research might also include additional demographics that were not included in this study, or to solidify the demographics that were under-represented in this study. Lastly, if changes are made within the law enforcement community due to the results of this study, future research should be conducted to track the progress and results.