Curriculum Evaluation of FSRL: An Occupational Therapy Program in Haiti
Abstract
In Haiti, the Episcopal University of Haiti (UNEPH) Board of Directors commenced two four year, bachelor’s programs, one in occupational therapy and the other in physical therapy. The Faculte des Sciences de Rehabilitation de Leogane (FSRL) is the name of the overall program for both degrees. The occupational therapy curriculum was developed by a panel of professors from different universities. The full curriculum for the four years is still under development; however, two years and one semester of coursework have been completed as of May, 2018. The first cohort of this program will graduate in 2019.
The evolution of this final doctoral project stems from the curriculum evaluation needs of the occupational therapy program in Haiti for future re-approval by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT). Graduates of FSRL are the future employees and leaders in the field. It is essential that the curriculum meet their needs through local context and continues to be approved by WFOT. Curriculum evaluation is a required part of the approval and re-approval process of WFOT. Hence, this project aims to develop an overall framework for curriculum evaluation using the standards by WFOT and curriculum evaluation tools to evaluate courses within the program.
There is a need for a formal method of curriculum evaluation for the occupational therapy program in Haiti to evaluate the overall occupational therapy curriculum as well as each course for its effectiveness. Curriculum evaluation is necessary because it meets the needs of a range of stakeholders, and addresses the dynamic context of health and international education (Harris, Driscoll, Lewis, Matthews, Russell and Cumming, 2010). Developing an overall curriculum evaluation model and tools that may be used to monitor the curriculum is an important step in assisting FSRL to prepare for re-approval.
The overall purpose of this doctoral project was to develop a curriculum evaluation framework and tools for the FRSL program that addressed WFOT approval standards. There has been no formal method of curriculum evaluation to date. The long-term objective of this project was to improve the occupational therapy curriculum of FSRL based on the outcomes of this project. The aim of creating curriculum evaluation tools was to provide a model to follow for meeting the re-approval standards of WFOT. The four components to this project included creating the following: a WFOT knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA) table, a program document review, faculty survey, and student survey. The faculty survey followed the context, input, process and product (CIPP) model and the student survey used course objectives to evaluate one course.