The what, why, who, and how of teaching intelligence: the Leicester approach

Abstract

This article uses our experience of teaching a postgraduate course in Intelligence Studies as a basis for discussion of core issues relating to contemporary intelligence education. After situating our understanding of Intelligence Studies in the context of wider debates about its nature and purpose, the article goes on to discuss key questions of how, who, and what we teach when we teach ‘intelligence’. It discusses the pedagogical benefits of a Distance Learning approach to teaching intelligence. It presents a picture of variegated demand arising from a dynamic and expanding professional sector and the continued appeal of studying the subject to non-professionals. It concludes that in providing ‘education’ rather than ‘training’ and taking a constructivist approach to learning as a shared journey, the ‘Leicester Approach’ can both improve the practice of intelligence and widen participation in key debates about intelligence.