Cadet adaptation stage: foundations of military pedagogy in officer training

Abstract

This article addresses the context of career officer training, and it aims to ascertain the extent to which military pedagogy, in light of behaviourism, underpins the practice of the Military Adaptation Stage (EAMI) undertaken by Air Force cadets upon entering the first year of the Officer Training Courses at the Air Force Academy (AFA). This study is justified by the need to better understand the teaching and learning processes that occur during the EAMI (Military Adaptation Stage), considering the scarcity of studies addressing this topic within the academic and pedagogical field. Therefore, the research is characterized as bibliographic, descriptive in nature, and it is based on a qualitative analysis of the collected data. Based on the findings, correlating educational theoretical concepts with the mapping of the EAMI, it is concluded that military pedagogy, in accordance with behaviourist theory, underpins these practices in the military training of the officer, mainly with regard to shaping behaviour through the use of stressful stimuli, in an effort to condition body and mind to the needs of military life.