Curriculum reform in the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University

• Main Author: Swerissen, Hal
• Other Authors: Jamieson, Ian ; Shields, Robin
• Published: University of Bath 2017
• Subjects: 375
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.725398

This thesis is concerned with the factors that affect sustainable change for teaching and learning practices in higher education. It does so by investigating the extent to which a curriculum reform strategy was successfully implemented at the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University. As the Executive Dean of the Faculty, I was responsible for the development and implementation of a Faculty wide curriculum reform programme over the three and half years which is the focus of this thesis. I was interested in whether the reforms were implemented as planned, the extent to which they led to improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of teaching and learning practices and the factors which affected their sustainability. In this respect, I was particularly interested in staff support or opposition to the changes and their perceptions of the impact of the changes on their role and identity. To explore these issues, I developed a mixed methods case study of the changes that were introduced. My intention was both to develop a better understanding of the factors that were important for improving teaching and learning in the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University and to use the case study to contribute to a broader understanding of the issues that are important for ensuring sustainable curriculum change in higher education organisations more generally.