Promise and challenge of identifying threshold concepts: a cautionary account of using transactional curriculum inquiry

Abstract

The original work on threshold concepts arose from a project designed to improve students’ learning experiences by taking seriously the features of disciplinary knowledge as its starting point. The conceptual and empirical work on threshold concepts has since developed and matured. While many disciplines have engaged enthusiastically with the identification of threshold concepts, healthcare has not been well represented. Drawing on Cousin’s (2007, 2009) notion of transactional curriculum inquiry, the study explores the identification of threshold concepts in a physiotherapy subject, with a sample of physiotherapy clinical educators, using nominal group technique (NGT). While the article presents a set of concepts from the pilot study, this is not its key contribution. Instead, three novel insights are offered for future threshold concepts research. First, there is a need to extend the stakeholders involved in curriculum reform and renewal beyond the university (particularly, for professions). Second, there must be ongoing opportunities for these external stakeholders to engage with and reflect on the distinct features of threshold concepts if the context and authenticity of practice is to be taken seriously for enhancing student learning. Third, the problem of identification is beset with conceptual challenges that remain unresolved for researchers.