Alternatives to a Core Curriculum To Accomplish Broad and General Training: A Scientist-Practitioner Perspective

There has been an historical struggle in professional psychology to provide a broad and general core without identifying the critical components necessary or how these components are linked to educational and professional outcomes. A conceptual model is presented that encourages more creative approaches to broad and general education and provides a theoretical grounding for implementation of alternative approaches that lend themselves to tracking educational outcomes. Alternative methods to ensure broad and general training include (a) a greater attention to preadmission preparation and (b) the use of alternatives to core courses such as menu driven coursework, competency portfolios, and comprehensive examinations. Examples of these methods are presented in detail. Program directors, regulators, and accrediting bodies need to consider this conceptual, outcome driven model, for evaluating programs and graduates with respect to broad and general preparation.