Il Portfolio. Studio preliminare dell'entering behaviour delle competenze, conoscenze e aspettative degli studenti del CLM in Scienze Riabilitative delle Professioni Sanitarie

Background: In Italy, the Master’s Degree in Health Sciences and Rehabilitation is a quite recent educational project and at the University of Milan it was inaugurated in 2008. The Master’s Degree focuses on a formative program that encourages the development of the health professions cultural progress through the acquisition of knowledge and skills in three specific areas: research, teaching and management. Students from eight professional first cycle graduate backgrounds can access to this Degree. Aim: Since an educational project should be constructed on the formative needs and expectations of learners, our purpose was to characterize the freshmen and evaluate if the Master’s Degree curriculum adopted at the University of Milan fits with this criterion. Methods: Through a portfolio, consisting of a questionnaire on students’ entering behaviour, we carried out a descriptive analysis of the characteristics of the freshmen, their initial level of knowledge and competence in the three formative areas and their expectations towards the post-graduate course and the traineeship. The study took into account 76 students of four different academic years. Results: The results underline a fluctuating distribution of students age and differences in educational qualification, working experience, role of responsibility. The questionnaire reveals how, between the three formative areas, students consider management and research those of lesser knowledge and, therefore, of greater interest. The analysis of learners’ expectations show how students evaluate the Master’s Degree title as a possibility of professional development, especially towards coordination or managerial positions. Conclusions: Data are important for a correct ideation of the formative course about contents and logistic aspects. This study is an useful starting point for administering the resources among the three formative areas and it should be complemented by a thorough comparison with the world of work in order to highlight on which educational domain focus more in the future.