| As the United States entered the second decade o f the 21st century, providing law enforcement services has been noted to be more complex than in any era in the nation's history. Piloting law enforcement agencies through the challenges ahead has been identified as requiring their senior leaders to possess the highest levels o f leadership acumen. A gap in the literature existed regarding the lived experiences o f mid-level leaders as students in long term leadership development programs. The purpose o f this qualitative, phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of recent graduates o f the 251st Session of the FBI National Academy Program that occurred while they were participating as students of their National Academy Session. A goal o f this study was to gather and analyze data about the participants' perspectives o f the National Academy's contribution to the development o f senior law enforcement leadership skills. A purposeful sample of 11 recent graduates of the 251st Session of the FBI National Academy was utilized. Data collection occurred through the use o f interviews over the telephone. The interviews were conducted using open-ended interview questions. The data were subsequently analyzed using the modified van Kaam method as presented by Moustakas (1994). Nine core themes emerged regarding the 251st Session: the overall experience was positive; common challenges confronted the law enforcement leaders in the Session such as budget, personnel, and leadership issues; the participants had a high regard for their fellow students; learning from peers was a valuable element o f the Session; networking was a long-term benefit; the academic component o f was relevant and of a good quality; the instructors were credible, engaged, and effective; the fitness component was beneficial and relevant; and, internal communications could have been improved. Recommendations for future research include additional qualitative studies of another FBI National Academy Session and longitudinal quantitative or mixed-method efforts focusing on the FBI National Academy and similar law enforcement leadership development programs. Recommendations for practice include using the themes individually or collectively to explore ways to produce more effective current or future leadership development programs relevant to mid-level law enforcement leaders. |
