Many educational institutions have their own basic training to qualify their teachers. At the Dutch Police Academy, the education branch of the Police, you can obtain the Pedagogical Didactic Certificate (Pedagogisch Didactisch Getuigschrift, PDG), which allows you to teach in Basic Police Education and Specialized Police Education. In addition, every year a group of teachers from Specialized Police Education and Higher Police Education follow a customized UTQ&BEQ trajectory via Risbo.
Laurinde Koster is educational consultant at Risbo, and coordinator of this UTQ&BEQ trajectory. She is also a trainer and supervisor in the program. Her own introduction to the Police Academy was some six years ago: “I certainly had to get used to it in the beginning, for example the police jargon. Also the great diversity of teachers in the group is quite a challenge at times. Some have a lot of street experience, but are didactically untrained. So you have to take that into account as a trainer.”
Client and colleague in the cooperation between Risbo and the Police Academy is Clea Evers,
staff member of Education and Knowledge Professionalism. Clea is responsible for the professionalization of teachers and supports a wide range of MBO, college and master's programs. She also teaches the PDG track. José Coenraads, psychologist and behavioral science teacher, participated in the UTQ&BEQ trajectory in 2023. Together, Clea and José talk about the content and impact of the trajectory.
Diversity in the group
The Risbo group is often a diverse group of teachers: Some come from Higher Police Education, where the bachelor's and master's education is given, and some come from Specialized Education, where they are also involved with educational design and development. José found this positive: “My group was quite diverse in terms of work field background and I really liked that. It also allowed you to spar with people other than your immediate colleagues for a change.” Although the difference in teaching experience is sometimes quite a challenge for the trainers, as far as José was concerned, it was not an obstacle:
“The way the lessons are taught and how the material is presented ensures that everyone can take out what is relevant to them. That is precisely where the Risbo teachers excel: They keep it open enough so that you can tailor it to your specific field of work. That's what makes the course so valuable.”
The participants in the UTQ&BEQ program combine the training with their daily work. José explains, “During the program I taught and worked on a new course. So I was able to use the teaching material from the UTQ&BEQ program both in terms of didactics and educational design directly in my own practice.”
Coaching & critical friends
In addition to the group meetings, coaching and guidance is an integral part of the UTQ&BEQ program. José explains, “I was in a group of three, guided by Laurinde. That worked very well. Laurinde really had plenty of time to coach each of us in a focused way. Furthermore, those coaching groups were also nice to spar in a small setting and get feedback on what we were putting into practice. We worked with that group from inception to graduation, which was nice.”
Clea also stresses the importance of executive involvement. During graduation, participants invite their supervisor or team leader as a critical friend: “That person prepares and asks questions about the tests made. That ensures that the content really “lands” in the organization. It strengthens the connection between the training, the teaching and the work on the floor.” José also recognizes this: “It really made my team understand better what I was doing and what direction I wanted to take.”
Quality and flexibility
The cooperation with Risbo is in line with the ambition of the Police Academy to match the level of training offered with regular education in the Netherlands. Moreover, within the UTQ&BEQ trajectory, a lot of work has been done in recent years to ensure a good translation of terms and structural elements from the academic material to the context of the Police Academy. Since this year, the educational material is also fully linked to relevant documents in It'sLearning, the learning management system of the Police Academy, which makes the trajectory even more effective.
Clea: “The evaluations about the cooperation with Risbo are very positive. It is always nice to purchase quality that is appreciated by participants.” She also praises Risbo's flexibility: “Some participants indicated that they would like to be able to read Dutch books. This is because much of the study material is in English, and for some people that means really hard work. It was very nice that Risbo responded flexibly and immediately looked at alternative sources from Dutch literature. That also typifies the cooperation:
“As soon as a concern is identified, action is taken. I like that approach.”
- More information
UTQ&BEQ trajectory Police Academy
The UTQ&BEQ trajectory is an annual program with a group of about 15 teachers, who are trained by Risbo. The program runs from September to May and includes four meetings in Apeldoorn, supervision during a lesson visit and a graduation meeting. Participants are supervised and coached in small groups by a Risbo trainer throughout the program.
