Critical appraisal of curriculum content for undergraduate academic curricula under Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed to be University) as against principles of curriculum design

Abstract

Background: A judicious mix of all three domains makes the curriculum better suited to the needs of the learner. At the same time, the curricula can be considered for their compliance with certain qualities such as the degree at which the curriculum addresses the cognitive domain, psychomotor domain as well as affective domains. Moreover, the design of the curricula should be such that they should be standardized for all interested learners taking into mind their different mental and psychological makeup. On this front, principles of curriculum design were given by The Curriculum Centre and are considered as standard of reference for this present study. Materials and Methods: Rapid review of literature with reference to curriculum of Intensive Care Technology, Biomedical Sciences, Clinical psychology, and Physician Assistant under faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed to be University) in the academic year 2020–2021 for purpose of their “Typing” with principles of curriculum design was done. Results: The academic curricula included in the present study were found to adhere to the principles of richness of knowledge, curriculum designed with memory of the learner in mind, curriculum designed for novices and not experts. However, they were found to be not in consonance with the principles of domain specificity, coherence, cumulation, and academic challenge. Conclusion: The undergraduate course curricula of academic course curricula launched under the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences included in the present study have been critically appraised on the basis of their adherence with the principles of curriculum design as proposed by The Curriculum Centre.