6.3 El Aspecto Social.

In Chapter 3 it has been argued that competence-based education has the profession as point of departure. In Figure 3.2 the road was depicted from professional profile and graduate profile to curriculum profile. In this section literature is reviewed on this road from profession to curriculum.

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4.2.1 Role of a needs assessment in curriculum development

A needs assessment can be carried out for various reasons and in many different contexts. In the case of the Faculty of Education at UEM the context of the needs assessment was the process of design and development of the curriculum for the various programmes in the Faculty of Education. More specifically, it played an important role in the front-end analysis that preceded the formulation of the first design proposals and subsequent development activities. Kaufman (1979) and Witkin (1984) mention the importance of a needs assessment in educational planning. Moseley and Heany (1994), mention the "…importance of needs assessment as the first step of successful institutional planning and as a key preliminary step for long range planning" (p63).

In line with McKillip (1987) who outlines, amongst others, the following purposes for a needs assessment: advocacy (in funding requests), description for understanding or academic purposes, planning for decision making about programme planning, the leading questions for the needs assessment in the Faculty of Education at UEM were defined as:

ƒ What is the legitimisation for the start of educational programmes in the Faculty of Education?

ƒ What professional profiles can be described for these two programmes?

ƒ What contributions can be given to the description of the curriculum structure?

Stufflebeam, McCormick, Brinkerhoff, and Nelson (1985) defined four views on needs assessment, that cover to a great extent the various aims of the needs assessment for the Faculty of Education at UEM:

The discrepancy view in which a need is perceived as a gap or discrepancy between the present situation, performance, etc. and a desired state (see also Kaufman, 1972). The discrepancy view is more related to issues of improvement of existing programmes often in terms of 'performance' and therefore less relevant here.

The democratic view, in which need is seen as a change or direction desired by a majority of some reference group. This view was reflected in the objective to solicit the opinion from stakeholders on the desirability of four educational programmes in the Faculty of Education at UEM.

The analytic view, in which need is seen as a direction that leads to predicted improvement, given sufficient information about the current status. The needs assessment of the Faculty can be considered analytic in its objective to establish directions for the curriculum of the programmes based on information on professional profiles and the related attributes or competencies.

The diagnostic view, need is seen as "..something whose presence will be beneficial and, consequently, the absence of which proves to be harmful" (Stufflebeam et

al.,1985, p8). The needs assessment of the Faculty was also 'diagnostic' because it aimed to find evidence that an absence of the educational programmes could impede the development of the educational sector and that their presence would lead to an improvement of the quality of education in Mozambique.

In a broader definition of needs assessment Young (1994), referring to Witkin (1984), describes a needs assessment as a "…preliminary examination of a situation to determine the potential for an educational program as a solution to a problem or a response to a need in the labour market or community" (p. 1). This covers sufficiently the three relevant 'Stufflebeam' views mentioned above.

4.2.2 From professional practice to curricula

Van der Klink, Bos and Boon (1999) describe the road from professional practice to curricula using the scheme of Onstenk and Moerkamp (1991). These authors characterise a professional profile by tasks and by qualifications. The definition of the tasks includes the 'organisation of the labour/profession and the developments in the profession'. Through occupational analysis the professional profile can be formulated. Occupational analysis leads always to a description of the 'tasks' of a job or occupation, but some authors include also competencies in the description (Bayly & Merrit, 1995; Brown, 1999; Lankard, 1996).

Onstenk and Moerkamp introduce, next to the professional profile, an 'education and training profile' that describes the aims and structure of education and training programmes. This profile becomes the basis for the curriculum profile. The subsequent stages, from professional practice to curricula, are characterised by Brandsma (1993) as 'The Royal Track'. It is a methodology for the identification of changes in the qualification demands in a profession and the translation of these into curriculum change.

Brandsma (1993) is rather critical on the use of professional profiles to define a curriculum. She states that there is no one-to-one relation between a professional profile and a curriculum. In many professions this relation is rather 'diffuse', but in some, like health, law, accountancy and education more straightforward. Problematic is also the time-consuming character of The Royal Track, in a context where the developments on the labour market are going faster and faster (cf. Simons, 2000). This means that curriculum change is always lagging behind the developments in society. However, shorter, more rapid methods can be applied that might provide adequate and timely responses to changes in society and professions (see Drok, 1998). Schlusmans et al. (2000) advocate a "wisdom of practice' approach and a permanent communication with the world of work to define what competent graduates should be able to show. Simons argues for social

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constructivist approaches leading to learning environments that are based on the 'lack of predictability of the future' and prepare for life-long learning. Brandsma's argument that often much emphasis is put on professional, domain-specific competencies and that generic, transferable competencies are often left out is also noticed by other authors. This has led to more attention for integrated approaches in occupational analysis (Baily& Merritt, 1995; Brown, 1998; Lankard, 1996), for example the Occupational Competency Analysis Profiles, designed by the Ohio State University (1995).

Most of the present methods used in occupational analysis aim to describe tasks and 'underpinning' competencies. The ILO (1993) defines occupational analysis as the "Action that consists of identifying, by observation and study, the activities and technical factors that make up an occupation. This process includes the description of those tasks that must be fulfilled, as well as the knowledge and qualifications required to perform with efficacy and success a determined occupation".

Various attempts have been made to categorise the various approaches and methods of occupational analysis. Blackmore (1999) categorizes the approaches in terms of role, function and skill. He then analyses them exploring the various values, beliefs and assumptions, expressed through: focus of approach, disciplinary base, assumptions about human interaction, nature of organizations and the nature between knowledge, understanding and performance. Van der Klink et al. (1999) give a useful overview of methods that are used to define a professional profile: 1. Methods aiming at a precise description of tasks (critical path analysis, critical

incident analysis, analysis of the 'structure of action') The disadvantage of these methods is their narrow attention for isolated tasks and not a holistic approach. 2. Survey under graduates of an educational institution with respect to their

present functions. The danger is that much data is obtained without a clear structure that makes it useful for, e.g., curriculum revision.

3. Consultation of experts in a DACUM (Develop A Curriculum) approach or