Praktisk examination och examination av praktik: möjligheter och begränsningar

The ability to lead armed combat is central to an officer. It is clear that the military profession is about more than possessing theoretical knowledge. Thus, in order to achieve an educational program that includes the skills and abilities of the military profession there is a need to look beyond traditional written examination and apply practical examination in various forms. In this article we argue that while all practice can and should be examined through practical examination, not everything that is practically examined has to be practice. More specifically, this article will focus on the possibilities and limitations with practical examination. Focus will be on the education of officers within the context of war studies. The article approaches the issue on the basis of the legal framework for higher education in Sweden, research on teaching and learning in higher education and practice at the Swedish Defence University. The overall purpose is to understand practical examination with regard to what is allowed, how it is done with judicial security, and how it can be done in practice. The article also discusses what should be practically examined and how this should be done.