Preparing military leaders: a narrative inquiry exploring how senior enlisted leaders understand their learning as they transition from a technical role to a more strategic leader role.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20128377

This narrative inquiry explored how Senior Enlisted Leaders approached learning while they attended an education-based curriculum designed to help them transition from a focused, technical role to a broader, leader/manager role. Participants were military students averaging 18 years of service with varied educational backgrounds. The study used Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory and Illeris's (2003) three dimensions of learning to examine the comparative nature of the participants' learning in training (how to do) and in educational (how to think) situations. Semi-structured interviews with 15 volunteers in individual and in small-group settings allowed the participants to express how they understood their learning in both training and in educational situations. Their stories were transcribed and subsequently analyzed using NVivo 10 software. Inductive analysis revealed six themes which, when taken together, can be used to model learning in both training and educational situations. Key findings highlight commonalities and differences between training and education, the role of discipline in education, and the central role of emotion in human learning. The study concludes with a proposed model that can comprehensively examine training and educational forms of human learning.