Mapping generic skills curricula: a recommended methodology

Since the 1997 Dearing Report generic skills development has become an essential part of higher education in the UK. Generic skills programmes are, in the main, either run in parallel with existing curricula or 'embedded' within them. In 1993 the General Medical Council introduced student...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of further and higher education Vol. 29; no. 3; pp. 221 - 231
Main Authors Robley, Will, Whittle, Sue, Murdoch-Eaton, Deborah
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basingstoke Routledge 01.08.2005
Taylor & Francis Group Journals
Taylor & Francis
Subjects
Educational policy
Educational sciences
England (Leeds)
Evaluation Methods
Foreign Countries
Higher Education
Interviews
Job Skills
Medical Schools
Policy, reform, legislation
Program Evaluation
Questionnaires
Skill Development
United Kingdom
Western Europe
United Kingdom (Leeds)
United Kingdom
Medicine
Curriculum
Skill
Basic Skills
Methodology
Curriculum Development
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Summary:Since the 1997 Dearing Report generic skills development has become an essential part of higher education in the UK. Generic skills programmes are, in the main, either run in parallel with existing curricula or 'embedded' within them. In 1993 the General Medical Council introduced student selected components (SSCs) into the UK medical curriculum with the intention of 'embedding' generic skills into undergraduate medical study. The SSC programme at Leeds School of Medicine was designed to develop specific generic skills in early focused projects and then allow students to practise these skills in clinical settings in later projects. In order to evaluate this programme, a methodology was devised to map the generic skills curriculum to an externally derived consensus on SSC outcomes. English's model, mapping 'declared', 'delivered' and 'learned' curricula, was used and a fourth, 'assessed' map added to check the 'alignment' of the curriculum through all its stages. Data for the maps were gathered from curriculum documentation, project supervisors and students using document scrutiny, questionnaires, interviews and focus groups. The methodology was run over a complete academic year for the entire programme. It proved valuable for mapping any 'embedded' generic skills programme to evaluate its success by collecting data from all stakeholders.
ISSN:0309-877X
1469-9486
DOI:10.1080/03098770500166801