Doctoral studies in developmental disability: Competency model development

Purpose: The need for innovative alternatives that can improve the quality of life of the population with developmental disabilities and other handicaps (DD-OH) provides fertile grounds for the establishment of higher education programs geared toward the formation of professionals with interdisciplinary skills through the use of the ecological model.

Methods: A mixed methodology (content analysis of a secondary database and the Delphi technique with experts in the field) was used to identify the competencies that serve as the starting point to design a graduate curriculum in the DD-OH.

Results: Ten domains were identified (interdisciplinary, communication, leadership, bioethics, cultural sensitivity, foundations of DD, family, integrated services, public policies, research). Forty-one competencies were developed. Two educational tracks: research-oriented and service-oriented. A competency model was designed for each track based upon the areas mentioned by experts and the legal framework (PL 106-402)that defines the needs of this particular population (development of expertise, advocacy, empowerment and system change).

Conclusion: Correspondence between their identified needs and their domains were analyzed, in order to insure curricular alignment. The theoretical curricular model describes an educational offering from which two professional profiles emerge; each one with a clear understanding that their separate expertise is equally important and is enriched by the ecological model.