Professional Military Education in the Marine Corps Reserve: A Narrative Inquiry

• In Event: 31.046 - Professional Identity Formation

Abstract

Professional Military Education (PME) is a category within Continuing Professional Development that has little research on the experience of course participants. With over one million servicemembers in the United States, and all of them being required to participate in their branch-specific PME programs, understanding the experience of participants in these programs is essential to creating the most effective platform for educating servicemembers. This narrative inquiry, of five United States Marine Corps Reservists, gives voice to participants in the mid-level career PME for enlisted Marines and explores their unique experiences. As 21% of all servicemembers fall within the reservist population, the narrative of their experience is instrumental to understanding the complexities of the participants within all PME programs.

Authors

• Adam Fullerton, American College of Education

• Deryl Keith Hatch-Tocaimaza, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Seth Synstelien, Southhill Studios Ltd.

• Aaron Meltzer, Delaware Valley University