This book has as its subject matter the academic education of officers and builds on the signing of the Bologna Declaration in 1999 by twenty-nine European ministers for Education and Science, who thereby agreed to coordinate higher education across Europe, by, for instance, the implementation of the Bachelor's and Master's system. In the meantime, military academies have also introduced the BaMa system into their programs for officers' education, which marks a transition from the old days, when officers' education took place within a national military system, under military command, and was firmly grounded in principles, traditions and needs, as professed by the Ministries of Defence and the armed forces in particular. So the Bologna Declaration can be seen as crucial leverage for the development of in-house academic degree programs as a fundamental part of officers' education. With this volume, the editors of NL ARMS 2019 strive to offer a platform to both academics and military and civilian practitioners, as well as to combinations of these, to reflect and share their thoughts on officers' education `before and after' Bologna, both in The Netherlands and abroad. To this end, controversies and challenges, affecting various aspects and systems of officers' education, have been grouped into five themes. Respectively, the first four themes comprise institutional settings and change; educational philosophy; educational challenges and reflective practices; and didactical solutions. The fifth theme, international perspectives, provides insights into the strategic environments and challenges faced by sister-academies, as well as ways to further officers' education across Europe, such as offered by Erasmus programs. All the editors of this year's volume are affiliated with the Faculty of Military Sciences of the Netherlands Defence Academy in Breda, TheNetherlands.

Gives an insight into the academic freedom and integrity essential to officer education Provides examples of the reflective practice, critical thinking and creativity employed in the military field Focuses on higher education, Bildung and military craftsmanship within the officer rank

Inhalt

Part I Institutional Settings and Change Processes.- Chapter 1. Governing Academic Education and Research in the Military in the Context of University Reforms.- Chapter 2. Making the Academic Turn: How Bottom-up Initiatives Drove Education Reform at the Netherlands Defence Academy.- Chapter 3. Character Is (the) Key! The Application of Virtue Ethics to Improve Officers' Education.- Chapter 4. A Performative Account of the Use of Oaths to Enhance Integrity within the Military.- Part II Educational Philosophy.- Chapter 5. Officer Bildung: A Philosophical Investigation of Preconditions for Military Character Education.- Chapter 6. A Critical Appraisal of the Bildung Ideal in Military Ethics Education.- Chapter 7. Reflective Practice in Synthetic Expeditionary Task Forces.- Chapter 8. From Thinking Soldiers to Reflecting Officers - Facts and Reflections on Officers' Education.- Chapter 9. Five Critical Success Factors for Coaching. A Perspective on Educating Reflective Practitioners.- Chapter 10. Mindfulness in the Dutch Military - Train your Brain.- Chapter 11. The Impact of Educational Characteristics on the Development of Cadets from Novices to Experts.- Chapter 12. Determinants of Academic Performance in Bachelor Theses: Evidence from the Faculty of Military Sciences at the Netherlands Defence Academy.- Part III Didactical Solutions.- Chapter 13. Iconic Images and Military Education: A Delicate Relationship.- Chapter 14. Bologna Meets the Battlefield - Using Historical Battlefields in Modern Academic Military Education.- Chapter 15. The Staff Ride as Reflective Practicum - Impressions and Experiences of the Faculty of Military Sciences and Maynooth University.- Chapter 16. Policy for Cadets and Midshipmen - Teaching Dutch Security and Defence Policy at the Netherlands Defence Academy.- Chapter 17. Legal Education: A Matter of Motivation? An Overview of Aspects of Legal Education for Officers.- Chapter 18. Military Engineering Practice, Education and Research in The Netherlands; The Golden Triangle.- Part IV International Perspectives.- Chapter 19. A European Army of Thinking Soldiers - European Academic Officers' Education: Challenges and Opportunities.- Chapter 20. Lilliputians Divided: How Service Statutes Fragment Lithuanian Security Services.- Chapter 21. What Sets the Officer Apart? Dutch and Danish Educational Reforms Leading to the Habitus of the Thinking Soldier.- Epilogue.