Summary
This thesis presents the results and discusses the implications of research undertaken in the province of Ontario, Canada, to determine factors impacting police participation in higher education. The study involved 1150 respondents working in 20 different police services in Ontario. Drawing on previous studies relating to adult education theory, key personal and professional characteristic factors of the adult learner involved in educational environments were examined. The study also examined six common clusters of factors identified as financial, convenience, social support, institutional culture, goal congruence and job relevance, that provided information on why police attain, do not attain, or are unable to attain higher education goals.