SUSTAINABLE ACCREDITATION AND LEARNING IN

INTERNATIONAL REHABILITATION

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

1EDEN 2011

Ireland Alan Bruce, Universal Learning Systems

United StatesDavid 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

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Change dynamic Impact of crisis Imperatives of continuing professional

development Standards and quality Ethical practice

Contexts of Inclusive Practice

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Using the Experienc

e of Disability

Beyond Barriers

to Shared Excellenc

e

From Compe-tence to

Creativity

European Challeng

es

American Perspect-

ives

Innovative Learning

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Thinking Globally

Anticipating Future

Demogra-phics

ICT & Supporte

d Systems

Policy and Trans-

formation

Linkage and Recognition

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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

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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

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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

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Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE)

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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)

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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

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International Rehabilitation Education

Building on firm foundation fromCORE and CUSA, our goal is to providean opportunity for other countries tohave 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

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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 13

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Accreditation as a Growth Process

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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

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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

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New Modelsof 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

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Challenges

World becomes flatter Boundaries blur Distinctions become less divisive Definitional considerations Universality of socially-endorsed and

culturally-dependent phrasing & practices

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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. 

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Resources

Council on Rehabilitation Education www.core-rehab.org

National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials

https://ncrtm.org/moodle/

National Council on Rehabilitation Educationwww.rehabeducators.org/resources.html

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