Sustainable Leadership in the Norwegian Police Education - Experiencing an Almost Complete Lack of Research and Curriculum Literature Creating Unforeseen Challenges for Education and Learning

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Elsa

Sustainable leadership is introduced as part of police leadership studies at the Norwegian Police University College (NPUC), yet no existing curriculum literature on sustainable leadership in the police was found. Two research questions guide a systematic literature review focused on what research has been written and how the concept is used in police education. Searches across multiple academic databases yielded only eight relevant studies, indicating an almost complete research and curriculum gap that may create unforeseen challenges for NPUC students.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Research Questions

Paper Outline

Literature Review

Sustainable Leadership

Sustainable Leadership in the Norwegian Police Education: Experiencing an Almost Complete Lack of Research and Curriculum Literature Creating Unforeseen Challenges for Education and Learning By Benja StigFagerland∗, Ole Boe ± & Søren Obed Madsen ° The Norwegian Police University College (NPUC) is introducing sustainability leadership as a part ofits police leadership studies. At present, the NPUC has no curriculum that contains any literature on sustainable leadership in the police. Thus, our two research questions were: 1. What has been written in the research literature about sustainable leadership in the police? 2. How is the concept of sustainable leadership in the police used in learning and education of police students? We decided to conduct a systematic literature review using the search terms sustainable leadership and police. We searched the databases Academic Search Premier, Criminal Justice Abstract with Full Text, PsycInfo and Scopus as they seemed to be the most relevant databases in order to answer our research questions. The results from this search were only eight unique studies that dealt with our topic of interest. The identification of studies via databases and registers was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. We draw the conclusion that there is an almost complete lack of research and curriculum literature on sustainable leadership in the police that probably will lead to unforeseen challenges for education and learning for NPUC´s students. Keywords: sustainable leadership, police, learning, education, systematic review Introduction In this study, we embark on a comprehensive exploration of sustainable leadership within the Norwegian Police University College (NPUC), a concept crucial yet underexplored in the realm of police education. Our investigation is structured around two pivotal research questions: Firstly, what existing literature addresses sustainable leadership in the policing context? Secondly, how is sustainable leadership integrated into the education and training of police students? This study conducts an in-depth exploration of sustainable leadership at the NPUC, a key but underexplored concept within police education. Centered on two main research questions, this investigation seeks to determine what existing literature covers sustainable leadership in policing, and how this type of leadership is integrated into the education and training of police students. ∗Associate Professor, University of South-Eastern Norway, Norway. ±Professor, University of South-Eastern Norway, Norway. °Associate Professor, University of South-Eastern Norway, Norway. Our approach begins with a comprehensive literature review to evaluate the current state of research. Employing a systematic review methodology, we meticulously sift through academic databases such as Academic Search Premier, Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text, PsycInfo, and Scopus. This phase culminates in the identification of only eight articles directly relevant to sustainable leadership in policing, revealing a significant research void and a lack of curriculum development in this area. The discussion section of our paper delves into interpreting these findings, considering their implications for educational practices and policy making at NPUC. We analyze the potential challenges in embedding sustainable leadership into curricula, essential for preparing police leaders to ethically manage modern policing complexities. We conclude by summarizing our critical findings, reflecting on the limitations of our study, and proposing directions for future research. This paper emphasizes the urgent need for scholarly attention and curriculum innovation to equip future generations of police leaders with sustainable and ethical leadership skills. Research Questions Thus, our two research questions were: 1. What has been written in the researc

FAQs

What motivated the study on sustainable leadership in Norwegian police education?

NPUC introduced sustainability leadership into its police leadership studies, but found no curriculum literature covering sustainable leadership in policing, creating a need to assess existing research and educational use.

How did the authors conduct the literature review?

They used a systematic literature review approach with search terms combining sustainable leadership and police, searching multiple databases including Academic Search Premier, Criminal Justice Abstract with Full Text, PsycInfo, and Scopus.

What did the review find about the availability of research and curriculum literature?

Only eight unique studies were identified as directly relevant, leading to the conclusion that there is an almost complete lack of research and curriculum literature on sustainable leadership in the police.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Elsa