Quality Assurance Processes within the field of PME : An Analysis from the Implementational Perspective

Abstract: Defensive cooperation between member states is considered an integral part on the EU agenda. Yet, despite the evident demand for integrative defensive mechanisms at the EU level, there appears to be no consensus on how military personnel should be trained. In order to bridge the national barriers, the field of Professional Military Education offers an internationalized space that lends itself to comparison. While the PME literature on officer education often touts adaptability and quality assurance as critical components – there are no descriptions on which processes facilitate these components. The purpose and aims of this study were to address the lack of information within the field of PME regarding which processes underpin and sustain quality assurance. Subsequently, the field of implementation research was investigated. Special attention was given to the Core Implementation Components Model which was used to analyze the regulatory documents of two institutions, the Swedish Defence University (SEDU) and the Theresian Military Academy (TMA), which handle parts of PME within their respective national contexts. Using a qualitative methodological approach, the case study found that while some operationalized variables can be found, the regulatory documents exhibit different ratios of variables. SEDU documents exhibit less descriptive matches, while TMA yield more. Neither sets of regulatory documents display the variable coaching. The results of the modelling and analysis has 1) shown that the use of the Core Implementation Components Model performs well for analysis of quality assurance processes within the field of PME, and 2) are presented such that they can be used as support for future studies.