Curriculum and pedagogy in higher education to fulfill the knowledge demands required for a master of science in aviation security management: a qualitative inquiry of aviation security professionals

The attacks on America witnesses by the world on September 11, 2001, provided proof of the efficacy of asymmetrical warfare. The attacks exploited weaknesses in aviation security measures extant. The concepts of using commercial aircraft as weapons of mass destruction were not entirely unknown. In November of 1991 an Islamic fundamentalist plot to hijack commercial aircraft in Spain was foiled. It was determined the terrorists were to fly aircraft into two separate buildings, killing U.S. President George Bush and the second aircraft would kill the Soviet delegation (Thomas et al. 2008). Aviation has been targeted by terrorists many times and will continue to be a very attractive target to achieve their objectives. September 11, 2001, emphasized the need for revised security practices in order to deter, detect, and mitigate the risks of attacks on aviation. Prior to September 11, 2001, aviation security was a low national priority and security managers were ill prepared to protect aviation from this threat. There exists a noticeable lack of aviation security course work or degree offerings in higher education to empower the future work force. The focus of this research was to determine graduate course work, pedagogy, and the need for a graduate degree in aviation security management. This was a qualitative study conducted by interviewing ten aviation security professionals in the private and governmental sectors to determine knowledge demands for course offerings for a Master of Science degree in Aviation Security. The analysis of the data disclosed course work in seven areas of knowledge in aviation security. These seven knowledge areas included: behavioral profiling, risk management, leadership, critical thinking, terrorism, airport environment, and aviation law.