Curriculum development and educational research: the barriers to good practice and what to do about them

Curriculum change is acknowledged to be a difficult process to initiate and maintain (Graham 2012). Over the last two years we conducted an ALTC-funded evaluation of the use of the Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Challenge projects in first-year engineering. We asked the question 'what works for whom under what circumstances' in recognition of the complexity of curriculum development, and given that different aspects of the process play out differently in different settings. Phase 2 of the project involved three University participants' trialling implementation recommendations resulting from the earlier stage of the evaluation. Results indicate that knowledge of best practice methods does not always directly relate to successful implementation. Thus, consideration needs to be given regarding how knowledge is translated into practice.