Kampen mellem teori og praksis. Videnskabeliggørelse af de danske officersuddannelser

Resumé

In 2014, Danish officer education was accredited in accordance with the Bologna process. This reform was met with criticism by officers and has since been heavily debated. At the core of many of the debates was the questions of how academic theories should be weighed against military practice and what need, if any, military practitioners have for academic education. The accreditation process and the debates that followed are in the article compared to a very early debate on officer education that ensued in connection with the establishment in 1830 of the first institution for advanced officer education, Den kongelige militære Højskole. Interestingly, a debate on the need of theoretical education for military officers also took place in the 1830s although the theories discussed and the military life

of the officers were very different. These debates are further contextualized with Western literature about theory and practice in officer education. Taking the methodological challenges that are connected to comparing two very different time periods into account the article argues that a battle between theory and practice is an inherent element of officer education.