Mr Damien Pearce

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Fulbright  Professional Scholar in Vocational Education and Training (VET), sponsored by DEEWR

“I aim to provide education and training that not only develops the skills and knowledge required to undertake a specific role description, but to also promote life-long learning and the transference of skills to new contexts.”

Damien Pearce, doctoral student in law enforcement education at the University of Southern Queensland, is the winner of the 2011 Fulbright Professional Scholarship in Vocational Education and Training (VET) sponsored by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

This Scholarship was established in 1995 to support the exchange of research and ideas in VET between Australia and the United States.

Through his Fulbright, Damien will go to the John Jay School of Criminal Justice in New York, to undertake a comparative analysis of police education and training strategies used in Australian and the U.S. policing, from April for six months.

“Australian police are confronting increasingly complex and challenging environments of law enforcement,” Damien said.

“I aim to look at how police officers are trained in the U.S. and compare it with what we are doing in Australia. I will look for methods and strategies that they use in the U.S, to see if there are ways that we can enhance our education and training.”

He will also investigate the contemporary design of the police curriculum, the practical training approaches used by police educators and look at how contemporary adult teaching methods are applied to enhance police education in the U.S.

Damien has a Master of Educational Leadership from the University of Canberra; a Graduate Diploma in Tertiary Teaching and Learning from the Canberra Institute of Technology; and trade certification as a Fitter Armourer attained while serving in the Australian Army. Damien has a long time relationship with youth development through Scouts Australia. In his spare time he enjoys outdoor activities.

The prestigious Fulbright program is the largest educational scholarship of its kind, created by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and the U.S. Government in 1946. Aimed at promoting mutual understanding through educational exchange, it operates between the U.S. and 155 countries. In Australia, the scholarships are funded by the Australian and U.S. Governments and corporate partners and administered by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission in Canberra.

Damien is one of 26 talented Australians to be recognised as a Fulbright Scholar in 2011. Applications for Fulbright Scholarships in 2012 open on 1 June, visit www.fulbright.com.au

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