VIEWS OF FIRST-YEAR POLICE CADETS ON THE PSYCHOLOGY COURSE IN GREECE

The present study explores police cadets’ perceptions of the Psychology course within their training context. The sample consisted of 111 first-year cadets who completed a structured questionnaire including subscales measuring attitudes toward the course, perceived professional usefulness, contribution to personal development, content evaluation, level of understanding, and comparative evaluation with other courses. The findings indicate a moderate to positive overall attitude, with particularly strong recognition of the course’s professional relevance. However, lower levels of intrinsic motivation and perceived contribution to personal development were observed. The course content was evaluated as contemporary, relevant, and appropriately demanding, although it did not strongly engage students’ interest. A key finding of the study is the clear preference for more interactive and experiential teaching methods, which appear crucial for enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes. Overall, while the Psychology course is acknowledged as an essential component of police education, the results highlight the need for a pedagogical redesign focusing on applied learning and active participation.