Redesigning curriculum at the higher education level: challenges and successes within a sport management program

ABSTRACT

Higher education programs face challenges to increase accountability regarding student achievement. Course misalignment occurs as instructors interpret course objectives differently, making changes to the course content without considering overall program alignment and purpose. Misalignment prompts academic programs to revisit its curriculum to assess effectiveness. Faced with a rapidly growing and increasingly diverse student population, the Sport Management (SPMT) division at a southwestern university used action research to redesign their undergraduate curriculum to meet their students’ needs. This study assesses the impact of using action research to determine why the SPMT program exists, what a successful SPMT program includes, and what knowledge, skills, abilities, and values industry leaders report necessary for SPMT graduates. Furthermore, methods for addressing challenges and successes through action research are discussed. As a result of the action research process and data collection, eight program learning outcomes were established to guide the next steps of curriculum development. These findings guided syllabus creation for a redesigned SPMT program, allowing for the creation of a rigorous, research based, and customized curriculum.

KEYWORDS:

• Action research
• curriculum
• higher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.