Determinants of Adoption of An Innovative Curriculum Model at The Pharmacy Department Of Kenya Medical Training College, Nairobi

Abstract

Background: Curriculum analysis involves assessing important elements, integration, and presumptions to identify gaps in instructional strategies, resources, technology, and outcomes. This gives stakeholders important information they can use to enhance training programs at educational institutions. The broad objective of this study was to explore the determinants of adopting an innovative curriculum model among lecturers and learners in the Pharmacy Department at the Kenya Medical Training College, Nairobi Campus. The specific objectives were: to determine the extent to which the faculty agreed that the Diploma in Pharmacy curriculum has been developed using the Harden's Ten Questions framework (HTQF); to determine the extent to which the learners perceived that the Diploma in Pharmacy curriculum has been developed using the HTQF; and to find out the extent to which the Diploma in Pharmacy curriculum demonstrates innovativeness using the HTQF. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online population survey based on HTQF. The estimated sample size was 153. Likert scales were used to obtain ratings of statements about the curriculum. Medians and interquartile ranges were used to summarize the ratings data. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to describe differences between curriculum ratings by the various groups of students and staff members. Findings: 84% of the 201 participants were students in the 18-35 years age category. The descriptive analyses revealed that most Participants agreed with most of the statements on various aspects of the curriculum. In contrast, some Participants were neutral or disagreed with a few statements. 83% of students and 75% of lecturers agreed that the curriculum is innovative. The innovativeness of the curriculum was based on statements that precisely agreed with the clarity of objectives, description of the relationship between basic and clinical sciences, integration of theory with clinical applications, promoting student autonomy, effective assessments, conducive educational environments, and continuous monitoring of curriculum implementation. 40% of students disagreed or were neutral about the innovativeness of the curriculum, based on the statements that include adequate coverage of information, computer technology skills, availability of instructional resources in the KMTC learning portal, sufficiency of lecturers, adequacies of instructional media and teaching materials, and availability of scholarships and grants. Conclusion and Recommendations: Most of the Department of Pharmacy at KMTC Participants agreed with the positive statements about the diploma in pharmacy curriculum presented to them. The study concludes that the pharmacy diploma curriculum is innovative because it aligns with HTQF. The study recommends scheduling student feedback after assessment among year 2 students to improve the innovativeness of the curriculum. It also recommends further research to determine the adoption of electives to align with an innovative curriculum model.