SUSTAINABLE ACCREDITATION AND

LEARNING IN INTERNATIONAL

REHABILITATION PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

Ireland

Alan Bruce, Universal Learning Systems

United States

David Perry, University of North Dakota

Michelle Marmé, Northeastern Illinois University

Chrisann Schiro Geist, University of Memphis

Regina Robertson, East Central Oklahoma University

Sustainable

Accreditation

Learning (beyond WHAT is taught…

what knowledge & skills are acquired)

International Rehabilitation

Professional

Globalization

Overview

Change dynamic

Impact of crisis

Imperatives of continuing professional

development

Standards and quality

Ethical practice

Contexts of Inclusive

Practice

Using the

Experience

of

Disability

Beyond

Barriers

to Shared

Excellence

From

Compe-

tence to

Creativity

European

Challenges

American

Perspect-

ives

Innovative Learning

Thinking

Globally

Anticipating

Future

Demogra-

phics

ICT &

Supported

Systems

Policy and

Trans-

formation

Linkage and Recognition

Globally, there are almost 1 billion people with disabilities (PWD)

Estimates of PWD by continent: Europe – 98 million, Africa – 137

million, Asia – 553 million, North America – 67 million, South America

– 57 million

U.N. estimates 13.3 % of world population has some form of

disability

While “disability” is defined differently in different countries, the

U.N. offers these definitions:

Impairment: “any loss or abnormality of psychological,

physiological, or anatomical structure or function”

Disability: a “restriction or lack (resulting from an

impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within

the range considered normal for a human being”

People with Disabilities

Supporting Independence

Social Dynamics of Marginalized

Populations

Interpersonal Communication &

Advocacy Skills

Medical Services

Physical Restoration

Psychological Supports

Independent Living

Housing & Transportation

Community Living Skills

Avocational Pursuits

Spiritual Development

Vocational & Job/Career Development

Legal Rights and Recourse

A variety of services are offered to help PWD become

more independent, such as: medical services, physical

restoration, psychological supports, job placement,

housing services, transportation assistance,

communication aides, and assistive technology.

Rehabilitation Service providers receive various kinds of

training, ranging from on-the-job training to college

degrees.

Higher education programs often seek accreditation to

demonstrate the quality and sustainability of their

degrees.

Interventions and

Training

Council on Rehabilitation

Education (CORE)

Has offered accreditation of master’s programs in

Rehabilitation Counseling since 1972

Accredits approximately 100 programs in the United

States

Is recognized by the Council on Higher Education

Accreditation (CHEA), an organization that certifies a

variety of international accrediting bodies (e.g.,

engineering and business)

Commission on Undergraduate

Standards and Accreditation (CUSA)

This commission is part or CORE and is responsible

for sanctioning quality undergraduate rehabilitation

education programs

The goal is to promote the effective delivery of

services to individuals

Services improve when professionals receive better

training

Accreditation standards promote continuing review

and improvement of high quality training programs

Maximizing participation of

people with disabilities

in mainstream of life

Creativity

Commitment

Collaboration

International Rehabilitation

Education

Building on firm foundation from

CORE and CUSA, our goal is to provide

an opportunity for other countries to

have their training programs recognized

Advantages include programmatic review

with respect to established standards of

quality, economic viability, sustainability,

portability of credentials,

course transferability, and

unified ethical codes

Profession defines fundamental standards of practice and

essential knowledge

Students’ best interests & educational goals protected

Strengths of Existing Models

Protocols to follow, refine, & modify for new contexts

Structured process of self-reflection for programs

Asynchronous sharing of information

Data gathering from constituents

“Outside” review & validation from profession

Educational institutions & programs are acknowledged for

developing/providing “best practice”

Accreditation

Accreditation

as a Growth Process

14

Voluntarily organized, by educators, to develop and implement common

policies and standards, to evaluate educational quality

Non-governmental, entirely voluntary, peer review, ensuring educational

programs meet educational and professional standards of quality

Consider faculty academic preparation, demonstrated excellence,

programmatic recruitment practices and admissions procedures,

course content

Outcome measures with respect to knowledge and skill attainment,

from the perspectives of a variety of stakeholders: supervisors,

employers, graduates

People with

Disabilities

Pedagogy

Standards

Accredita-

tion

Technology

Process of Continual

Refinement

Establishing and supporting “best practice”

Reimagine “accreditation” as

Growth-oriented

Supportive

Enhancing outcomes

Building upon established structures to address

evolving needs of our students and practice

Recontextualizing process in light of varying contexts

and technologies

Re-evaluating

Accreditation Process

New Models

of Program Assessment

Consensus: some face-to-face components must be retained

To ensure voracity of reports

To address physical access in rehabilitation context

In the absence* of technological alternatives

Distance models for executing program evaluation & training of

evaluators

Virtual training of site visitors

More evaluators involved, enhancing the # observers involved

Decreased costs for accreditation review process, increased

cadre of reviewers

Multiple perspectives enhances sophistication of process

Challenges

World becomes flatter

Boundaries blur

Distinctions become less divisive

Definitional considerations

Universality of socially-endorsed and

culturally-dependent phrasing & practices

Optimum training experiences for individuals

interested in the full inclusion of people with

disabilities and differences, will be

met through this refinement of sustainable

training and

evaluation methodologies.

Resources

Council on Rehabilitation Education www.core-rehab.org

National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials

https://ncrtm.org/moodle/

National Council on Rehabilitation Education

www.rehabeducators.org/resources.html