A Transformative Leadership Journey: Experiences of Graduates of the American Physical Therapy Association Fellowship in Education Leadership.

INTRODUCTION: Physical therapy education has an acute need for effective leaders due to multiple factors, including increasing numbers of programs and retirement of experienced leaders. Recognizing the need for formal leadership education, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) developed a fellowship in physical therapy educational leadership in 2011. This study aimed to understand participants' perceptions of their leadership experience and the role of the APTA fellowship. LITERATURE REVIEW: A commonly reported approach to evaluating leadership education programs was designed by Kirkpatrick. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-five fellowship graduates from 2012 to 2019 participated. METHODS: We used a qualitative methodological approach incorporating a heuristic technique to gain an understanding of fellowship graduates' long-term perspectives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three themes were constructed using a journey metaphor: embarking on the journey, engaging in the journey, and realizing the effects of the journey. 1) Embarking on the journey included 2 subthemes: a) participants' personal aspirations as career planners, reluctant leaders, or explorers; and b) institutions' goals for a change in leadership or intentional succession planning. 2) Engaging in the journey included 3 subthemes: a) the fellowship learning environment builds a sense of community; b) consideration of leadership frames influences participants' thinking about leadership; and c) participants' institutional environment influences their learning. 3) Effects of the journey included 3 subthemes: a) personal growth as a leader including personal awareness and confidence; b) institutions' benefits from participants' leadership projects and increased engagement in institutional leadership; and c) physical therapy professions' gains from participants' seeking leadership positions in professional organizations. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: The APTA Fellowship in Educational Leadership results in transformative change of participants as leaders. Findings offer guidance to individuals considering embarking on a leadership journey and institutions considering how to prepare and support emerging leaders in physical therapy education.

National Study of Excellence and Innovation in Physical Therapist Education: Part 1-Design, Method, and Results.

BACKGROUND: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching commissioned the Preparation for the Professions Program, a qualitative study of professional education in 5 professions: medicine, nursing, law, engineering, and clergy. These studies identified curricular structures, instructional practices, assessment approaches, and environmental characteristics that support the preparation of professionals and led to educational reforms. The physical therapy profession has not had any in-depth, national investigation of physical therapist education since the Catherine Worthingham studies conducted more than 50 years ago. OBJECTIVES: This research was a Carnegie-type study, investigating elements of excellence and innovation in academic and clinical physical therapist education in the United States. DESIGN: Five physical therapist education researchers from across the United States used a qualitative multiple-case study design. METHODS: Six academic and 5 clinical programs were selected for the study. The academic institutions and clinical agencies studied were diverse in size, institutional setting, geography, and role in residency education. Qualitative case studies were generated from review of artifacts, field observations, and interviews (individual and focus group), and they provided the data for the study. RESULTS: A conceptual framework grounded in 3 major dimensions was generated, with 8 supporting elements: (1) culture of excellence (shared beliefs and values, leadership and vision, drive for excellence, and partnerships), (2) praxis of learning (signature pedagogy, practice-based learning, creating adaptive learners, and professional formation), and (3) organizational structures and resources. CONCLUSION: Building on the work of the Carnegie Foundation's Preparation for the Professions Program, a conceptual model was developed, representing the dimensions and elements of excellence in physical therapist education that is centered on the foundational importance of a nexus of linked and highly valued aims of being learner centered and patient centered in all learning environments, both academic and clinical.

National Study of Excellence and Innovation in Physical Therapist Education: Part 2-A Call to Reform.

This perspective shares recommendations that draw from (1) the National Study of Excellence and Innovation in Physical Therapist Education research findings and a conceptual model of excellence in physical therapist education, (2) the Carnegie Foundation's Preparation for the Professions Program (PPP), and (3) research in the learning sciences. The 30 recommendations are linked to the dimensions described in the conceptual model for excellence in physical therapist education: Culture of Excellence, Praxis of Learning, and Organizational Structures and Resources. This perspective proposes a transformative call for reform framed across 3 core categories: (1) creating a culture of excellence, leadership, and partnership, (2) advancing the learning sciences and understanding and enacting the social contract, and (3) implementing organizational imperatives. Similar to the Carnegie studies, this perspective identifies action items (9) that should be initiated immediately in a strategic and systematic way by the major organizational stakeholders in physical therapist education. These recommendations and action items provide a transformative agenda for physical therapist education, and thus the profession, in meeting the changing needs of society through higher levels of excellence.

Education Research in Physical Therapy: Visions of the Possible.

Education research has been labeled the "hardest science" of all, given the challenges of teaching and learning in an environment encompassing a mixture of social interactions, events, and problems coupled with a persistent belief that education depends more on common sense than on disciplined knowledge and skill. The American Educational Research Association specifies that education research-as a scientific field of study-examines teaching and learning processes that shape educational outcomes across settings and that a learning process takes place throughout a person's life. The complexity of learning and learning environments requires not only a diverse array of research methods but also a community of education researchers committed to exploring critical questions in the education of physical therapists. Although basic science research and clinical research in physical therapy have continued to expand through growth in the numbers of funded physical therapist researchers, the profession still lacks a robust and vibrant community of education researchers. In this perspective article, the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy Task Force on Education Research proposes a compelling rationale for building a much-needed foundation for education research in physical therapy, including a set of recommendations for immediate action.