Effectiveness of training: The conceptual framework and methodological strategy of a longitudinal study in the Portuguese armed forces

Considering that this research is still ongoing, this paper focuses on the presentation of the conceptual framework and its interconnection with the methodological strategy for the empirical study that aims to study the learning transfer to the workplace of professional military education in the context of the Portuguese Armed Forces. Factors related to the trainees’ individual characteristics, the organisational context, the courses design, the organisational learning culture, the organisational commitment and the expectations of career development, as well as the relationships established between these factors and the intention to transfer, throughout the lifelong learning process, will be discussed. The empirical study will be carried out at three junctures - before the training, at the end of the training and three to six months after the training. The study is conceptually based on Holton’s Holistic HRD Research and Evaluation (1996), Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (1991), Watkins and Marsick’s model of learning organisations (1993, 1996) and Meyer and Allen’s (1991) concept of organisational commitment. The study will be developed using a mixed strategy (quantitative/qualitative), applying a hypothetical-deductive and inductive reasoning, in which a longitudinal research design with a transversal component will be followed. The data collection for the empirical study will be done through a questionnaire, individual semi-structured interviews and discussion groups about the results.