Date of Submission

8-1-2024

Document Type

DiP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

police culture, mental health, relational leadership, transformative leadership, Edgar Schein, PDSA cycle, Kirkpatrick’s Model of Learning Evaluation, WellBlue Cultural Framework

Abstract

This Dissertation-in-Practice (DiP) endeavours to address the intricate challenges embedded within police culture regarding their approach to responding to mental health alteration. Within the context of the Blue Virtue Police Service (BVPS; a pseudonym), the ramifications of mental health alterations among officers are profound and influence various aspects of the organization, such as sick leave utilization, leaves of absence, officer performance, community relations, and incidents involving the use of force. This DiP aims to tackle the specific problem of practice (PoP) question: What strategies can the BVPS adopt to encourage help-seeking behaviour and foster mental wellness among its officers? A political, economic, social, technological, ethical, and legal analysis identifies the diverse factors impacting the PoP, aiding in understanding broader contextual factors within which solutions must be developed. This DiP incorporates transformative and relational leadership paradigms to facilitate the change process. Guided by Schein’s stages and cycles of learning change framework, this DiP proposes an organizational anti-oppressive educational initiative as the optimal solution to address the PoP question. Implementation and communication plans, also aligned with Schein’s framework, are outlined to guide the integration of this initiative within the BVPS context. Finally, the DiP emphasizes the importance of monitoring and evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the proposed intervention. The PDSA cycle is used for monitoring, while Kirkpatrick’s model of learning evaluation offers a structured approach to evaluating the longer-term outcomes of the learning derived from the educational initiative.

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