Curriculum Development
The development of curriculum that reflects the philosophy and practices of the university and the community in which it is placed is an essential first step in ensuring effective learning outcomes for the graduating physiotherapists. The development of the curriculum needs to be a collaborative process between academics, clinicians, basic scientists and other professional and community stakeholders and should reflect the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values required to achieve the specific and explicit educational goals and objectives that have been established. Care must be taken to ensure that the curriculum is carefully constructed to ensure that there is both a horizontal and vertical integrity to the syllabus and that themes and topics are connected. Curriculum maps or concept maps are methods that can be used to ensure this integration. The focus on student learning and learning outcomes expected should be central to the design of the curriculum and should be reflected in all aspects of planning eg the space needed, the types of exam processes used and the training of the educators.
When developing curricula, academic and clinical educators are advised to consider:
- the dynamic nature of the health systems;
- increasingly diverse community contexts;
- the community's expectations of health professionals;
- the changing roles of physiotherapists in a multidisciplinary approach to health care; and
- innovative approaches to curriculum design, delivery, assessment and review.
Physiotherapy academic and clinical educators can assist students by clarifying and justifying the philosophy underpinning their pedagogical approaches to physiotherapy education i.e. the curriculum and the expectations of academics and clinicians must be made explicit to the students. The curriculum needs to allow students time to reflect on their own learning, develop strategies to understand their learning and share their learning in a collaborative manner with their peers, academics and clinicians.