This work analyzes the effectiveness of continuing education within the Republican Police of Benin through a mixed methodological approach mobilizing the D. Kirkpatrick model and self-determination theory. The research, conducted with 150 participants, reveals that continuing education is widely recognized as an essential lever for professionalization, in a security context marked by rapid changes and increasing operational demands. The results show, however, that officers' motivation remains dominated by extrinsic factors such as professional recognition, financial incentives, and career advancement prospects. Although intrinsic motivation exists among some officers, it remains minority and insufficiently supported by current organizational practices. The analyses also reveal several structural challenges: limited resources, excessive standardization of modules, low officer availability, lack of program updates, unequal hierarchical support, and significant obstacles to the transfer of learning in the field. These constraints reduce the satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, thereby limiting the depth of learning and the real impact of training on operational performance. The research concludes that a comprehensive reform of the continuing education system is necessary, based on content modernization, better adaptation to regional and professional realities, strengthening of recognition mechanisms, and a stronger commitment from the hierarchy. Such an approach would optimize the effectiveness of training, stimulate more autonomous and lasting motivation, and contribute to the strengthening of police professionalism.
| Published in | Social Sciences (Volume 15, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ss.20261501.13 |
| Page(s) | 16-29 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Continuing Education, Motivation, Republican Police, Professional Recognition, Operational Performance, Benin
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APA Style
Djidonou, G. H., Gnonle, Y., Ahouandjinou, R. (2026). The Effectiveness of Continuing Education in the Republican Police of Benin: Between Operational Constraints and Professionalization Needs. Social Sciences, 15(1), 16-29. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20261501.13
ACS Style
Djidonou, G. H.; Gnonle, Y.; Ahouandjinou, R. The Effectiveness of Continuing Education in the Republican Police of Benin: Between Operational Constraints and Professionalization Needs. Soc. Sci. 2026, 15(1), 16-29. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20261501.13
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ss.20261501.13,
author = {Ghislain Hermann Djidonou and Yatte Gnonle and Raymond-Bernard Ahouandjinou},
title = {The Effectiveness of Continuing Education in the Republican Police of Benin: Between Operational Constraints and Professionalization Needs},
journal = {Social Sciences},
volume = {15},
number = {1},
pages = {16-29},
doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20261501.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20261501.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20261501.13},
abstract = {This work analyzes the effectiveness of continuing education within the Republican Police of Benin through a mixed methodological approach mobilizing the D. Kirkpatrick model and self-determination theory. The research, conducted with 150 participants, reveals that continuing education is widely recognized as an essential lever for professionalization, in a security context marked by rapid changes and increasing operational demands. The results show, however, that officers' motivation remains dominated by extrinsic factors such as professional recognition, financial incentives, and career advancement prospects. Although intrinsic motivation exists among some officers, it remains minority and insufficiently supported by current organizational practices. The analyses also reveal several structural challenges: limited resources, excessive standardization of modules, low officer availability, lack of program updates, unequal hierarchical support, and significant obstacles to the transfer of learning in the field. These constraints reduce the satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, thereby limiting the depth of learning and the real impact of training on operational performance. The research concludes that a comprehensive reform of the continuing education system is necessary, based on content modernization, better adaptation to regional and professional realities, strengthening of recognition mechanisms, and a stronger commitment from the hierarchy. Such an approach would optimize the effectiveness of training, stimulate more autonomous and lasting motivation, and contribute to the strengthening of police professionalism.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - The Effectiveness of Continuing Education in the Republican Police of Benin: Between Operational Constraints and Professionalization Needs AU - Ghislain Hermann Djidonou AU - Yatte Gnonle AU - Raymond-Bernard Ahouandjinou Y1 - 2026/01/30 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20261501.13 DO - 10.11648/j.ss.20261501.13 T2 - Social Sciences JF - Social Sciences JO - Social Sciences SP - 16 EP - 29 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2326-988X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20261501.13 AB - This work analyzes the effectiveness of continuing education within the Republican Police of Benin through a mixed methodological approach mobilizing the D. Kirkpatrick model and self-determination theory. The research, conducted with 150 participants, reveals that continuing education is widely recognized as an essential lever for professionalization, in a security context marked by rapid changes and increasing operational demands. The results show, however, that officers' motivation remains dominated by extrinsic factors such as professional recognition, financial incentives, and career advancement prospects. Although intrinsic motivation exists among some officers, it remains minority and insufficiently supported by current organizational practices. The analyses also reveal several structural challenges: limited resources, excessive standardization of modules, low officer availability, lack of program updates, unequal hierarchical support, and significant obstacles to the transfer of learning in the field. These constraints reduce the satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, thereby limiting the depth of learning and the real impact of training on operational performance. The research concludes that a comprehensive reform of the continuing education system is necessary, based on content modernization, better adaptation to regional and professional realities, strengthening of recognition mechanisms, and a stronger commitment from the hierarchy. Such an approach would optimize the effectiveness of training, stimulate more autonomous and lasting motivation, and contribute to the strengthening of police professionalism. VL - 15 IS - 1 ER -
Center for Studies and Research in Education and Social Interventions for Development (CEREID), University of Abomey-Calavi, Porto-Novo, Benin
Center for Studies and Research in Education and Social Interventions for Development (CEREID), University of Abomey-Calavi, Porto-Novo, Benin
Center for Studies and Research in Education and Social Interventions for Development (CEREID), University of Abomey-Calavi, Porto-Novo, Benin
