Reframing Police Training in Malaysia: A Multi Theoretical Approach to Learning Design in the Royal Malaysia Police Training Centre

Abstract

Police training in Malaysia is central to train competent, ethical and operationally ready officers. In Malaysia, police training has existed for approximately 219 years, yet its pedagogical foundation appears to have undergone limited theoretical renewal, particularly in the application of learning theories across the varies types of training modules. Current instructional practices remain largely shaped by Behaviourist oriented traditions, with some Cognitivist elements, through discipline, repetition, procedural instruction, memorisation and structured knowledge transmission. Although these approaches remain useful for physical, procedural and performance-based training, they may be insufficient for law related modules that require legal reasoning, critical reflection, communication, problem solving and contextual judgement. This conceptual paper proposes a more balanced and module sensitive application of learning theories in the Royal Malaysia Police Training Centre. Rather than arguing that one theory should dominate police education, the paper emphasises the need to align learning theories with the specific nature, objectives and competencies of each training module. For law modules, particularly those involving legal interpretation and application, the integration of Social Constructivism and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is proposed as a more suitable pedagogical direction. These approaches are relevant because they promote active learning, collaborative knowledge construction, authentic problem solving, reflective discussion and practical application. Conceptually, this paper contributes to police education in Malaysia by reframing instructional design from a predominantly behaviourist tradition towards a more theoretically grounded, module-sensitive and practice-oriented model of police training instruction.