Citation

White DR, Ferrandino J. J. Crim. Justice Educ. 2022; 33(1): 58-75.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (U.S.A.), Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10511253.2021.1949026

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This work explores the extent to which the death of George Floyd in May of 2020 and the COVID-19 crisis affected criminal justice students' perceptions of career commitment and motivations toward public service. A survey was administered to a cohort of criminal justice majors at one Michigan university who were between their junior and senior years, once in the spring semester of 2020, before Floyd's death and the civil unrest that followed, and again at the end of the 2020 summer semester. The results suggest that career commitment remained unchanged between the two time points, as did the students' COVID-related attitudes. Contrary to expectations, public service motivation increased (rather than decreased), and this change was significant. The results are more encouraging than might be expected in such a tumultuous time of history, and they may help inform educators about how students view such turmoil relative to their career choice.

Language: en

Keywords

Career commitment; public service motivation; student perceptions