Project Team
- Meaghan MacNutt, Assistant Professor of Teaching, School of Health and Exercise Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Development (Lead Applicant)
- Mary Jung, Associate Professor, School of Health & Exercise Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Development
Themes
- Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
- Program Development and Transformation
Year
2025
About the Project
It is universally understood that health professionals have a moral and social responsibility to advance health equity by providing high-quality, inclusive services for all clients. However, explicit preparation for this task has received little attention in health professional training programs. In fact, there is no common understanding of the competencies (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) that health professionals need to work inclusively and equitably with others. Moreover, there is no clear guidance on how to help people develop those competencies.
The Bachelor of Health and Exercise Sciences (BHES) program at UBCO prepares its graduates for professional practice in kinesiology and allied health, clinical exercise physiology, and health behaviour change. To prepare these students for equitable and inclusive practice, we aim to reform our curriculum by creating and adopting a set of program-level competencies related to equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization (EDID) and strategically integrating the essential underlying EDID learning throughout the degree. To do this, we will collaborate with an advisory panel of educators, health professionals, students, alumni, community members and EDID experts. Together, we will identify the EDID competencies essential for HES-related professional practice in BC and create practical tools (a curriculum map and rubrics) to support teaching and learning across the BHES curriculum.
This initiative will support transformative learning in the BHES program, positively impacting our students and their future clients and colleagues. Furthermore, this project will lay the groundwork for transformative change in health and exercise sciences education across Canada and beyond.