A STUDY TO IDENTIFY THE CURRICULUM GOALS OF UNITED STATES EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACADEMIC PROGRAMS BY ACADEMIC DEGREE LEVEL THAT ARE PERCIEVED AS NEEDED BY FACULTY AND EMERGENCY MANAGER PRACTITIONERS

CURRICULUM GOALS Curriculum: Are the courses, or group of courses, that make up a specific academic program, such as a general education program or major. Goals: The general aims or purposes of the program and its curriculum.

ACADEMIC DEGREE PROGRAMS A program of study which offers a full concentration in a single academic or professional field of study An academic degree program is often referred to as a concentration at the associate degree-level; major at the bachelor’s degree-level; and concentration or track at a master’s degree-level

ACADEMIC DEGREE LEVELS Associate Degrees: Two-year undergraduate programs of approximately 60 semester credit hours Bachelor’s Degrees: Four-year undergraduate programs of approximately 120 semester credit hours Master’s Degrees: One-to-two year graduate programs of study

PERCIEVED AS NEEDED Need is operationally defined as the level of importance ascribed to each curriculum goal, and each degree level, by faculty (or program directors/representatives) and emergency manager practitioners

PURPOSE General importance of developing emergency management programs to society Enhancement of curriculum designers ability to develop curriculum appropriate for each degree- level by moving from general to specific Improve student and employer’s ability to distinguish degree-level aspects Develop the discipline and enhance the profession

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM This study will examine the perceptions that academic program faculty/ administrators and emergency managers have of what are, or should be, the general or broad curriculum goals for emergency management associate, bachelors and masters degree programs.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS Is there significant consistency between emergency management degree-program experts on what the set of general curriculum- level goals for emergency management academic degree programs should be? If so, can these general curriculum-level goals for emergency management degree programs differentiate between associate, bachelors and masters program degree-levels?

RESEARCH QUESTIONS If there significant consistency between emergency management degree-program experts on whether or not these general curriculum-level goals for emergency management academic degree programs can be combined to form a set of overarching curriculum-level goal concepts? If so, can these overarching curriculum-level goal concepts differentiate between associate, bachelors and masters program degree-levels?

LITERATURE SEARCH History of Emergency Management in the United States Academic Degree Programs Academic Program Planning Influences on Curriculum Development Emergency Management Educational Programs Emergency Management Academic Degree Programs Emergency Management Academic Degree Program Educational Goals

History of EM in the US Ad Hoc Legislation Civil Defense and the Cold War Shift to Emergency Management Founding of FEMA Reorganization of FEMA Paradigm Shift in Emergency Management Homeland Security

Academic Degree Programs Undergraduate Degrees –Associate-level institutions concentrate upon skills training while bachelor’s-level instruction concentrates upon the development of critical thinking skills Graduate Degrees –Master’s Degrees: are a balance of practical education and training focused on career fields in a concentration, with the development of theoretical concepts in the same field of study

Academic Program Planning

Diamond’s Basic Design Sequence

Influences on Curriculum Development Administrators, students, state governments, regional accreditation agencies, faculty discipline and department membership, foundations, socioeconomic conditions, administrative leadership, business and industrial community, and other educational institutions competition for students

EM Educational Programs A broader view of disasters has meant a revolution in the way emergency management and the academic programs that teach emergency management handle disasters. However, the programs are not coordinated and lack common frameworks, guiding principles, or standards from which to develop their core curriculum. Key to the effective development of these new subject areas is the ability to arrange courses in the curricula into logical sequences that will integrate the body of knowledge into the curriculum and result in a holistic discipline.

EM Academic Degree Programs

EM Academic Degree Program Goals Research Methods Masters* Analytical Methods Masters* Dimensions of Emergency Management Masters Practice Governmental Systems, Political SkillsMastersBachelorsAssociate & Human Relations Legal & Regulatory Aspects MastersBachelorsAssociate Application of Technology MastersBachelorsAssociate Planning Theory & Disaster Planning MastersAssociate Organizational Theory, Leadership & MastersBachelorsAssociate Teamwork Communications Theory & Skills MastersBachelorsAssociate Human Resource, Fiscal Management MastersBachelorsAssociate & Resource Management Healthcare Bachelors* Environmental Design Bachelors* Critical Incident Stress Management Bachelors* Physical Sciences & Climatology Bachelors* Public Works & Critical Infrastructure Bachelors* ICS, NIMS & Disaster Management Associate* Risk Assessment & Hazard Knowledge Associate* Basic Terrorism/WMD Associate* Social Dimensions of Disasters Associate*

Relationship of Curriculum and General Goals to Instructional Design

General & Specific Research Hypotheses General Research Hypothesis 1 Emergency management academic degree program experts can find significant agreement upon a set of general curriculum-level goals that should be common to all emergency management academic degree programs. –Specific Research Hypothesis 1 The researcher will survey a group of five or seven emergency management degree-program experts using the Delphi technique to search for agreement on the perceived level of importance of a set of general curriculum-level goals that the researcher has developed from the literature on the subject.

General & Specific Research Hypotheses General Research Hypothesis 2 Emergency management academic degree program experts can agree on a set of overarching curriculum- level goal concepts that should be common to all emergency management academic degree programs. –Specific Research Hypothesis 2 The researcher will survey a group of five or seven emergency management degree-program experts using the Delphi technique to search for agreement on the perceived level of importance of a set of overarching curriculum-level goal concepts that the researcher has developed from the literature on the subject.

General & Specific Research Hypotheses General Research Hypothesis 3 Is there a significant difference in the level of importance perceived by emergency management degree program faculty/administrators for each emergency management general curriculum-level goal for associate, bachelors or masters degree-levels? –Specific Research Hypothesis 3 Do emergency management faculty/administrators have significantly different perspectives on the importance of individual emergency management degree program, curriculum- level goals specific for each emergency management academic degree level? Example Full Model: Calculate R2 for: Y GOALS = a0U + a1AS + a2BS + a3MS + E Example Restricted Model: Calculate R2 for: Y GOALS = a0U + E

General & Specific Research Hypotheses General Research Hypothesis 4 Is there a significant difference in the level of importance perceived by emergency management degree program faculty/administrators for each emergency management overarching curriculum-level goal concepts for associate, bachelors or masters degree-levels? –Specific Research Hypothesis 4 Do emergency management faculty/administrators have significantly different perspectives on the importance of individual emergency management degree program, overarching curriculum-level goal concepts specific for each emergency management academic degree level? Example Full Model: Calculate R2 for: Y CONCEPTS = a0U + a1AS + a2BS + a3MS + E Example Restricted Model: Calculate R2 for: Y CONCEPTS = a0U + E

General & Specific Research Hypotheses General Research Hypothesis 5 Is there a significant difference in the level of importance perceived by emergency managers for each emergency management general curriculum-level goal for associate, bachelors or masters degree- levels? –Specific Research Hypothesis 5 Do emergency managers have significantly different perspectives on the importance of individual emergency management degree program, curriculum-level goals specific for each emergency management academic degree level? Example Full Model: Calculate R2 for: YGOALS = a0U + a1AS + a2BS + a3MS + E Example Restricted Model: Calculate R2 for: YGOALS = a0U + E

General & Specific Research Hypotheses General Research Hypothesis 6 Is there a significant difference in the level of importance perceived by emergency managers for each emergency management overarching curriculum-level goal concepts for associate, bachelors or masters degree-levels? –Specific Research Hypothesis 6 Do emergency managers have significantly different perspectives on the importance of individual emergency management degree program, overarching curriculum-level goal concepts specific for each emergency management academic degree level? Example Full Model: Calculate R2 for: Y CONCEPTS = a0U + a1AS + a2BS + a3MS + E Example Restricted Model: Calculate R2 for: Y CONCEPTS = a0U + E

Participants In Stage 1 expert panelists were EM faculty/program administrator/managers. In Stage 2 faculty/administrators and emergency managers who are either members of the International Association of Emergency Managers and/or who are listed as contacts for academic programs by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Higher Education Project for associate, bachelors or master’s degrees, or related degree programs were surveyed via .

List of Proposed Emergency Management Goals Variable Description RESEARCHResearch methods ANALYSISAnalytical methods FOUNDDimensions of emergency management practice POLYSCGov. systems, political skills & Human relations LEGALLegal & regulatory aspects TECHApplication of technology PLANPlanning theory & disaster planning LEADEROrganizational theory & disaster planning COMMCommunications theory & skills ADMINHR, fiscal management & resource management HEALTHHealthcare ENVIRONEnvironmental design CISMCritical stress management PHYSICALPhysical sciences & climatology WORKSPublic works & critical infrastructure ICSICS, NIMS & disaster management RISKRisk assessment & hazard knowledge WMDBasic terrorism/WMD SOCIALSocial dimensions of disasters

Future Research Recast the emergency management academic curricular goals for additional homeland security variables and use Delphi technique to further develop the list prior to re-running the empirical survey.