Pensamiento complejo y transformación institucional: Una aproximación sistémica a la formación policial en Colombia

Contemporary police education takes place in an institutional setting shaped by functional specialization, diversified responsibilities, and the need to respond to complex social problems. Although differentiated functions may improve the technical handling of specific situations, they may also lead to fragmented knowledge, weak coordination, and a partial understanding of the institution’s mission. This article examines the possibilities for pedagogical and institutional transformation emerging from the implementation of the systemic spiral evaluation model at the Rafael Núñez Police Academy in Córdoba, Colombia, drawing on complex thought and experiential learning. The paper uses the empirical information from a qualitative study conducted within an interpretive paradigm and an action-research design. The evidence includes semi-structured interviews, participant observation, reflective diaries, and coherence matrices, involving three instructors, twelve students in the final stage of training, and one institutional pedagogical adviser. Findings reported in the original study indicate changes in perceptions of assessment, stronger connections among technical, operational, ethical, and civic knowledge, and increased opportunities for cooperation and pedagogical reflection. These findings are discussed systemically without attributing causal effects or generalizations beyond what the design supports. The article argues that reflective assessment can connect experience, knowledge, and action while enabling educational actors to review and adjust their practices. It concludes that complex thought offers a relevant framework for understanding police education as a relational reality, although sustained institutional transformation requires continuity, support, longitudinal evaluation, and explicit knowledge-management mechanisms.