NEW DIRECTIONS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION - TRAINING CHANGE AGENTS FOR ENTRY-LEVEL POSITIONS

• NCJ Number: 47116
• Author(s): K W JOHNSON; B S WOOD
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 47 pages
• Grant Number(s): 74-CD-99-0002
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; University of Maryland
• Corporate Author: University of Maryland
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Program Description (Model)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: INSTITUTE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND CRIMINOLOGY MONOGRAPH

Annotation

A TRAINING MODEL DESIGNED TO PREPARE COLLEGE STUDENTS TO ASSUME THE ROLE OF CHANGE AGENT IN ENTRY-LEVEL POSITIONS IN POLICE, PROBATION, AND OTHER CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES IS DOCUMENTED.

Abstract

THE CENTRAL FOCUS OF THE CHANGE AGENT CURRICULUM, WHICH WAS DEVELOPED AND TESTED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, IS ON TRAINING IN THE AREAS OF PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, EVALUATION RESEARCH, AND INTERPERSONAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT -- ALL OF WHICH ARE LINKED TO IMPROVING CRIMINAL JUSTICE OPERATIONS. THE RATIONALE FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM, THE BREADTH OF ITS TRAINING OBJECTIVES, THE SCOPE AND DESIGN OF THE EXPERIMENT, AND THE EVALUATION STRATEGY ARE DESCRIBED. THE INTERNAL DYNAMICS OF THE CHANGE AGENT PROGRAM ARE PRESENTED, INCLUDING DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE THREE MAJOR PROGRAM COMPONENTS: FORMAL COURSE WORK; CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT; AND FIELD RESEARCH EXPERIENCES. COMPARATIVE DATA ON PARTICIPANTS IN THE CHANGE AGENT PROGRAM AND ON MATCHED GROUPS OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE REGULAR CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY ARE PRESENTED AND ANALYZED, AS ARE DATA ON THE VIEWS OF PARTICIPATING STUDENTS AND OF DECISIONMAKERS WITH WHOM THE STUDENTS WORKED IN THEIR FIELD EXPERIENCES. EVALUATION RESULTS, INCLUDING FINDINGS ON RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SPECIFIC PROGRAM ELEMENTS AND OUTCOMES, ARE PRESENTED. THE POSTGRADUATION REINFORCEMENT COMPONENT OF THE MODEL IS DISCUSSED, AND THE STATUS OF THE CHANGE AGENT TRAINING PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND IS NOTED. OPERATING PRINCIPLES FOR UNIVERSITY-BASED CHANGE AGENT TRAINING ARE OFFERED, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ARE DISCUSSED. SUPPORTING TABULAR DATA ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)