An investigation of the program planning process for athletic training curriculum education programs

It has been said that "planning an educational program is a lot like teaching---everyone thinks they're good at it" (Sork, 1990, p73). This, however, is not always true, especially in the eyes of professional program planners. Program planning is a decision-making process that defines a set of related activities designed to develop an educational program specific for adult learners. The purpose of this study is to identify factors related to program planning that distinguish successful and unsuccessful athletic training curriculum education programs. The significance of this research will be to identify program planning models that are successfully used in developing an athletic training education program. Once identified, they may be used by program planners in the field to develop a program that will have success with accreditation and furthermore, produce highly qualified certified athletic trainers to render care to injured student athletes.; This study provided an in-depth analysis of the process of program planning in a pre-professional education setting. The population of the study represented included undergraduate programs that have attempted accreditation within the past three years. The sample consisted of athletic training curriculum directors from either successfully accredited or unsuccessfully accredited athletic training educational programs.; Theoretical sampling was used and data was collected using an open-ended interview which focused on the particular choice of program planning model used in the development of their curriculum education program. The analysis examined the process used to develop the program and plans for implementation and evaluation. The data was analyzed by transcribing the interviews while identifying emerging themes or trends. The following themes were identified in the differentiation of successful and unsuccessful athletic training curriculum education programs: curriculum director education, program planning experience and expertise; time and resources associated with program planning; and the use of external support, an external consultant and the diversity and use of the planning committee.; The study found that there is not one specific factor that will ultimately lead to the development of a successfully accredited athletic training education program. There are many explanations as to the role of program planning theory from the themes that emerged in this study. Nevertheless, proper program planning leads to successful program development; therefore, it should be a vital part of the development of all new athletic training curriculum education programs.