Higher Education, College Degree Major, and Police Occupational Attitudes

Existing police research has produced mixed results regarding the benefits of college education on the outlooks of officers. In addressing many of the well-documented methodological concerns of prior research, the current study augments the existing police education-occupational attitudes literature by examining the impact of varying levels of education (i.e. high school, some college, and bachelor’s degree and higher) on officers’ job satisfaction, views of top management, and role orientation(s). In addition, among those with a bachelor’s degree, the relevance of degree major on officers’ occupational outlooks is assessed. Our results address and inform advocacy efforts to make college education a bona fide occupational qualification.