Using a co-designed educational philosophy to underpin physiotherapy curriculum renewal

An educational philosophy is traditionally a personal statement regarding beliefs in how learning occurs and how best to facilitate that learning. An educational philosophy can also be expanded and co-designed by a team to be the foundation and compass that underpins and authentically informs collaborative design and renewal of program curriculum. This study reports the appraisal of the relevance of a co-designed pre-registration physiotherapy educational philosophy for post-registration physiotherapy learning and the use of the educational philosophy to inform curriculum renewal. An explanatory mixed methods approach was used with data gathered from multiple stakeholders via a survey and collaborative workshop. This research using co-design principles has shown the co-designed pre-registration educational philosophy and its four associated pillars (collaborate, construct, reflect and solve) were considered appropriate for postgraduate physiotherapy curriculum. Thematic analysis of workshop data revealed the skills, attributes, capabilities, and knowledge Master of Clinical Physiotherapy students should acquire and strengthen during the degree. The graduate attributes and course learning outcomes for the post graduate physiotherapy program were reconceptualized to include contemporary skills, attributes, capabilities, and knowledge. The co-designed educational philosophy and skills, attributes, capabilities and knowledge, and renewed course learning outcomes were used to underpin and authentically inform the collaborative review and renewal of the Master of Clinical Physiotherapy curriculum. Co-designing the educational philosophy was integral to a cohesive and connected curriculum renewal process. Health education disciplines should consider exploring the suitability of a co-designed educational philosophy to enhance student learning experiences and graduate outcomes, and strengthen staff engagement and collegiality.