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Curriculum Design Workshop Dr Cath Sullivan University of Central Lancashire

HEA Psychology Network Workshop Teaching Qualitative Research Methods To Undergraduate Students York University, 21-22 April 2010. Curriculum Design Workshop Dr Cath Sullivan University of Central Lancashire. Why qualitative methods?. BPS accreditation syllabus QAA subject benchmarks

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Curriculum Design Workshop Dr Cath Sullivan University of Central Lancashire

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  1. HEA Psychology Network WorkshopTeaching Qualitative Research Methods To Undergraduate StudentsYork University, 21-22 April 2010 Curriculum Design Workshop Dr Cath SullivanUniversity of Central Lancashire

  2. Why qualitative methods? • BPS accreditation syllabus • QAA subject benchmarks • Possible change with ‘Accreditation through Partnership’ • QAA benchmarks likely to still be used

  3. Aims • Overview of BPS syllabus • Overview of QAA subject benchmarks • Opportunity to reflect on current provision

  4. BPS accreditation • Graduate Qualifications Accreditation Committee (GQAC) - reaccreditation every 5 years • Qualifying exam syllabus includes qualitative methods (since 2004)

  5. BPS accreditation • CONCEPTUAL AND HISTORICAL ISSUES • The syllabus is structured around a number of key questions: What is science, and to what extent does psychology (the science of the mind) exemplify scientific characteristics? To what extent is psychology socially and culturally constructed? Can psychology be politically neutral? Can psychology be morally neutral? • Methods of acquiring knowledge: scientific method versus common sense; the relationship between facts and values. Critiques of traditional methods in psychology; the significance of the standpoint from which values are understood. • Paradigms and research programmes: Kuhn, Lakatos and Feyerabend. Lessons from the history of psychology: Reductionism, structuralism, functionalism, relativism and the nature of consciousness. From the BPS Membership and Qualifications Board Qualifying Examination Syllabus 2002

  6. BPS accreditation • CONCEPTUAL AND HISTORICAL ISSUES (continued) • Critical psychology and subjectivity: The critical psychological view of subject and subjectivity. The origins of ethical issues for psychology; moral underpinnings of the theory, research and practice of psychology; psychologists and community members as partners in the construction of ethically responsible practices. • RESEARCH ISSUES: • The collection of qualitative data: observation, participant observation, techniques for the collection of verbal protocols. • The analysis of qualitative data: content analysis, discourse analysis, grounded theory and protocol analysis. From the BPS Membership and Qualifications Board Qualifying Examination Syllabus 2002

  7. BPS accreditation • HEIs must meet standards in the QAA “Code of Practice for the Assurance of Academic Quality and Standards in Higher Education” …. Which means (amongst other things) subject benchmarks

  8. QAA Subject Benchmarks • The QAA: Review academic quality within the UK and provide “nationally agreed reference points that help to define clear and explicit standards” (QAA, 2003) • Institutional Audit (every 6 years) + Welsh and Scottish equivalents • Subject benchmarks

  9. QAA Subject Benchmarks • In describing the extent of the discipline, QAA state that psychology undergraduates “need to be aware of the exciting new developments in the field, for example, …. discourse analysis and critical theory” (QAA, 2007, p2). • In describing knowledge domains they state: “It is expected that all the main sub-areas listed below will be covered. Research methods in psychology, ie research design, the nature and appropriate statistical analysis of data, psychometrics and measurement techniques, and quantitative and qualitative methods. It should be noted that qualitative methods are understood broadly here, and might include protocol analysis, interviews, grounded theory and discourse analysis.” (QAA, 2007, p3)

  10. QAA Subject Benchmarks • In describing skills they state that students should be able to: “carry out empirical studies involving a variety of methods of data collection, including experiments, observation, psychometric tests, questionnaires, interviews and field studies; analyse data using both quantitative and qualitative methods;” (QAA, 2007, p4).

  11. Exercise: Review of current provision and development needs

  12. Further information • Sources of further information • The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education http://www.qaa.ac.uk/ • The British Psychological Society http://www.bps.org.uk/ (search for ‘accreditation’ to find information). • References • British Psychological Society (2002) Qualifying Examination Syllabus Leicester: BPS • The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (2003) A brief guide to quality assurance in UK higher education Gloucester: Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education • The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (2007) Psychology Subject Benchmark Statement Gloucester: Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education

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