Applying threshold concepts theory to an unsettled field: an exploratory study in criminal justice education
Author(s)
Wimshurst, Kerry
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2011
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Criminal justice education is a relatively new program in higher education in many countries, and its curriculum and parameters remain unsettled. An exploratory study investigated whether threshold concepts theory provided a useful lens by which to explore student understandings of this multidisciplinary field. Eight highperforming final-year students in a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice degree were invited to identify and reflect on one powerful concept that helped them make sense of the field. Analysis indicated three subgroups with different conceptual encounters. There was evidence that multidisciplinary ...
View more >Criminal justice education is a relatively new program in higher education in many countries, and its curriculum and parameters remain unsettled. An exploratory study investigated whether threshold concepts theory provided a useful lens by which to explore student understandings of this multidisciplinary field. Eight highperforming final-year students in a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice degree were invited to identify and reflect on one powerful concept that helped them make sense of the field. Analysis indicated three subgroups with different conceptual encounters. There was evidence that multidisciplinary professional fields are characterised by bounded and unbounded generic thresholds. While the article comments on current criminal justice education, it raises concerns for multidisciplinarity and threshold concepts research more broadly.
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View more >Criminal justice education is a relatively new program in higher education in many countries, and its curriculum and parameters remain unsettled. An exploratory study investigated whether threshold concepts theory provided a useful lens by which to explore student understandings of this multidisciplinary field. Eight highperforming final-year students in a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice degree were invited to identify and reflect on one powerful concept that helped them make sense of the field. Analysis indicated three subgroups with different conceptual encounters. There was evidence that multidisciplinary professional fields are characterised by bounded and unbounded generic thresholds. While the article comments on current criminal justice education, it raises concerns for multidisciplinarity and threshold concepts research more broadly.
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Journal Title
Studies in Higher Education
Volume
36
Issue
3
Subject
Criminology not elsewhere classified
Education Systems
Specialist Studies in Education