Exploring students’ views and experiences of an acupuncture programme at a South African university: Case study
Abstract
Curriculum transformation for 21st-century skills in higher education is gaining much attention nationally and internationally. The African continent is becoming acutely aware of strengthening the curriculum to improve teaching and learning. In this study, the focus is on transforming the acupuncture programme to align with international standards. Streamlining and aligning the South Africa (SA) curriculum programme to international standards will improve patients’ health. The reason is that higher education institutions are responsible for ensuring that their students are competent in the world of work through quality educational programmes. There is an increasing demand for quality acupuncture services for the public. According to the World Health Organization, acupuncture is one of the most popular alternative medicines worldwide. However, there is a lack of research to explore contextualised acupuncture programmes on the African continent. This study aimed to explore the content of the South African acupuncture programme and align it with international standards. To undertake this study, the author employed a qualitative, single-case study by interviewing the students of the programme using a semi-structured interview schedule. The findings of this study revealed that students shared positive views towards the acupuncture programme. They had a clear and accurate understanding of the outcome of the programme. However, participants reported that there was limited clinical exposure in the acupuncture programme, which negatively affected students’ competencies in the working world. This study concluded that there was a need to ensure the contextualised acupuncture programme was benchmarked against international standards. Furthermore, there was a need to improve the infrastructure at the university to ensure adequate training facilities. This study is of profound significance since the identified higher education institution is the only university that provides an acupuncture programme in South Africa.
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