Bachelor-Programme
INITIAL EDUCATION IN PSYCHOMOTRICITY
PROPOSAL FOR A MINIMUM CURRICULUM
EUROPEAN BACHELOR LEVEL
Art 1: Definition:
Based on a holistic vision of the human being, on the unity of body and mind, psychomotricity integrates the cognitive, emotional, symbolical and physical interactions in the individual’s capacity to be and to act in a psychosocial context.
Psychomotricity’s scientific references are medical, psychological and neuropsychological, educational, as well as the social sciences.
Art 2: Fields of competence:
Psychomotricity intervenes in health, education and research fields.
In the health field, the psychomotrician can intervene in the promotion of well-being, prevention, care, cure, re-education, rehabilitation and therapy.
Psychomotricity concerns all ages: infant, child, adolescent, adult, the elderly and particular stages, such as pregnancy and end of life.
Art 3: Education:
The initial minimum education of a psychomotrician corresponds to the European bachelor level, which is a three or four year education. (see Bologna declaration).
The curriculum is divided into a theoretical course, applied courses and internship.
Theoretical and applied courses must include teaching contact hours at a defined minimum level of 20%.
Student attendance at the theoretical and applied courses, as well as for the internship is obligatory.
Students should combine and integrate the different contents of all three courses in becoming a qualified psychomotrician. The education must be organised in such a way that this integration process can take place successfully.
Art 4: Curriculum:
4.1 Preamble
The psychomotrician’s competences require the integration of medical, psychological, educational knowledge, social sciences, as well as knowledge from the specific field of psychomotricity. The student must master psychomotor techniques and develop bodily aptitudes, skills and empathy.
The development and functioning of a human being in its context, as well as its deviations are studied for all ages of life.
Students must be able to observe, evaluate and describe all aspects of the normal and deviant development of the human being. They must be able to devise and apply appropriate psychomotor treatments.
The curriculum must enable the student to work in an interdisciplinary context and to obtain social and democratic skills. The curriculum must take account of the latest developments in research, and deal with questions of professional ethics.
It would be desirable in the near future to open up the profession of psychomotricity (and thereby the internship) to both the Health and the Education fields.
4.2 Principles:
In accordance with European standards, the curriculum is expressed in ECTS.
A three-year curriculum is equivalent to 180 ECTS, a four-year curriculum to 240 ECTS. How ever, the education of a psychomotrician to a bachelor level is equivalent to between 180 and 240 ECTS.
Theoretical, applied courses and internship are organised by the education institutions.
The curriculum comprises interrelated theoretical, applied courses and internship. The links between the different courses are established in different ways during the curriculum. The student, accompanied and supervised by the teachers and by those responsible for the internship, has to integrate the content of the different courses.
The theoretical courses must enable the student:
To master the specific concepts of each subject.
To integrate the diversity of approaches.
To be capable of discussing scientific issues.
Applied courses must enable the students to:
Discover and experience the main psychomotor functions. The applied courses relate to the taught theoretical ideas and concepts. Students must experience the links between movement, emotion, actual experiences, relation and personality, and reflect on it. Students must deepen their knowledge of specific techniques, such as relaxation. This experience serves as basis to develop methodological, motor and bodily skills. These skills require that the students should experiment with all kinds of movement and bodily activities in order to use these specific psychomotor skills in the different fields of competence, as defined in article 2.
Practice psychomotor tests, observation and interviewing techniques that are specific to psychomotricity.
Develop and apply protocols of treatment in psychomotricity.
Acquire experience of supervision and reflection work
The links between theory and practice are also approached through the study of patient files or healthy subjects’ files.
Internship must enable the student:
To know institutions and to understand the way they work.
To observe and understand the development and functioning of healthy people, both children and adults.
To observe and analyse psychomotor skills and disorders.
To observe and take part in psychomotor treatment, to observe and master the evaluation methods, and to take part in the psychomotor treatment protocols.
To acquire team-work and interdisciplinary experiences
For each student, the majority of the internship must be undertaken with an experienced psychomotrician.
All courses and internship are subject to evaluation.
At the end of his/her study, each student must present a thesis of a topic in psychomotricity , in what he/she documents the personal integration of the contents of the various courses relating to the chosen topic.
4.3 Study plan:
The relative importance of each subject matter is expressed in ECTS. According to European standards, “they reflect the quantity of work each course unit requires in relation to the total quantity of work necessary, to complete a full year of academic study at the institution (here they will be defined for the three years education), that is, lectures, practical work, seminars, tutorials, fieldwork, private study – in the library or at home – and examinations or other assessment activities ».
In order to leave each country free to adapt the teachings to its own cultural and social specificities, this curriculum represents 75% (135 ECTS) of the workload for a three year education. This percentage applies to each subject and the general curriculum. This curriculum constitutes the minimum and obligatory European curriculum for an initial education in psychomotricity. The education institutions must extend this minimum curriculum to reach the bachelor level of 180 ECTS, but they are free to choose and organise the content of the remaining 25% of the workload.
4.4. Validation of the courses:
The validation of all courses is subject to the testing of the student’s knowledge and skills.
The assessment of the theoretical and practical aspects of the course is done by way of continuous assessment and examinations. The tests are written, oral or practical. These evaluations are graded.
The students performance in the courses are graded according to the national grading systems.
Internship is passed or graded by the person in charge of the internship or the education institution.
The thesis is defended before an assessment committee and graded according to the national grading system.
Requirements for obtaining the diploma of psychomotrician:
Students must pass all the general and applied courses as well as the internship and the thesis.