An investigation into the alignment of a South African physiotherapy curriculum and the expectations of the healthcare system

Until 1994, physiotherapy education and training were aligned with the expectations of the South African healthcare system. Subsequent to policy shifts since 1994, the professional role of physiotherapists has expanded. In the absence of guiding strategies to support this change, physiotherapy curricula have remained relatively static.

Objective

The paper examines the discrepancies between physiotherapy education and training at a South African university post apartheid and the expectations of the healthcare system.

Design

Located within critical feminist research framings and employing narrative inquiry as the selected methodology, data were produced through multiple methods to obtain multiple perspectives and orientations.

Participants

This multisectorial data production approach involving student physiotherapists, physiotherapy academics and practising physiotherapists included in-depth focus group interviews, individual interviews, life-history biographies and open-ended questionnaires. The data were analysed separately for each group of research participants (physiotherapy students, practitioners and academics), followed by a cross-sector analysis.

Results

The analysis illustrated current disciplinary trends and shortcomings of the physiotherapy undergraduate curriculum, whilst highlighting that which is considered valuable and progressive in physiotherapy and health care. The dominant themes that emerged included issues relating to physiotherapy theory and practice, and issues that influenced the construction of relationships in the curriculum.

Conclusion

The significance of this study lies in the value of student and practitioner feedback to inform curriculum and professional development in the light of sociopolitical changes and healthcare expectations.