Why do Students in Australia Enrol in Criminology Degrees?
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Deakin University
Australia -
Deakin University Australia
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Deakin University Australia
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Deakin University Australia
Abstract
Students choose to study criminology for various intrinsic and extrinsic reasons. This article explores whether any distinct groupings can be discerned in relation to underlying motivational profiles. Drawing on a survey of 430 Australian undergraduate criminology and criminal justice students, we utilise latent class analysis to identify distinct motivational profiles underlying respondent decisions to study criminology. Five motivational profiles were revealed – Curious, Activist, Lived Experience Altruist, Lived Experience Reformer, and Unclear. Empathic motivations were key in shaping study choices within all of the profiles except the fifth. However, the first four profiles differed in their emphasis: Curious and Lived Experience Altruist place greater weight on helping individual victims of crime, whereas for Activist and Lived Experience Reformer structural reform drives their educational decisions. A multinomial logistic regression demonstrated that class classification was influenced by respondents’ political ideology, attitudes towards the criminal legal system, punitiveness, and individualising moral foundations. These findings can help to address the educational challenges associated with student cohorts that have diverse enrolment motivations, and inform ongoing curriculum development. Further research can track the temporal evolution of motivational profiles to explore when and how they vary.
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Author Biographies
Mark A Wood is a lecturer in criminology at Deakin University. Most of his research falls within the sphere of digital criminology, examining how digital technologies shape the way crimes are understood, percieved, commissioned and responded to. His work has appeared in Theoretical Criminology, Crime Media Culture, Surveillance & Society, the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, Feminist Media Studies and The International Journal of Cyber Criminology. His first book, Antisocial Media: Crime-Watching in the Internet Age, was released by Palgrave Macmillan in 2017.
Dr Clare Farmer is an Associate Professor in the School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Deakin University, Australia. Her teaching prioritises student-centred insights and applied learning practices. Her primary research draws from evidence-based evaluations of responses to violent and anti-social behaviours, and the use and effectiveness of specific policing and criminal-legal interventions.
Dr Sally Kennedy is a Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Deakin University, Australia. Her research focuses on criminal-legal processes and policy, both domestically and transnationally.
Dr Emma Gretgrix is a Research Fellow at Deakin University, Australia. Her PhD research examined policy and practical responses to sexual violence in Australian Universities, and she is passionate about conducting trauma-informed and inclusive research with vulnerable populations.