Applying threshold concepts theory to an unsettled field

An Exploratory Study in Criminal Justice Education

Bibliographic Data

ID4985276
AuthorsKerry Wimshurst (Griffith University, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume36
Issue3
Pages301-314
Publication date2011-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in Higher Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03075070903556063
OpenAlexW1966266589
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited11

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

Bachelor · Criminal justice · Criminology · Curriculum · Economic Justice · Engineering ethics · Exploratory research · Higher education · Multidisciplinary approach · Pedagogy · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Engineering · Evaluation of Teaching Practices · Innovative Teaching Methodologies in Social Sciences · Law · Psychology

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