Development and validation of a guide for active methodologies in osteopathy education

Abstract

Introduction: The search for pedagogical strategies that foster student agency and the integration of theory and practice has been growing in health education. In postgraduate osteopathy programs, the adoption of active learning methodologies faces challenges such as insufficient faculty training, student resistance, and a lack of structured materials to guide their implementation. Objective: To develop and validate a practical guide on active learning methodologies for postgraduate osteopathy faculty. Methods: This was a methodological study conducted in three stages. The first stage consisted of an integrative literature review to inform the guide's development. The second stage involved content validation by experts using the Content Validity Index (CVI ≥ 0.80). Participants included faculty members holding at least a specialist qualification, possessing experience with active learning methodologies in higher education, and scoring ≥ 8 on an adapted Fehring model scale. Experts evaluated seven items: clarity, pertinence, organization, logical sequence, suitability, applicability, and relevance. The third stage was semantic validation involving physiotherapist faculty members from the postgraduate osteopathy program at the Brazilian School of Osteopathy and Manipulative Physiotherapy, who assessed the guide's clarity, pertinence, and applicability. Both validation instruments utilized a 1-to-5 Likert scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: All items in the content validation phase showed a CVI ≥ 0.90, with five items achieving a CVI of 1.00. In the semantic validation phase, all items exceeded the minimum criteria, confirming the guide's clear language and practical applicability. Conclusion: The guide demonstrated robustness and pedagogical relevance, serving as a structured tool to support faculty in implementing active learning methodologies. Future plans include expanding validation to other institutions recognized by the Federal Council of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy and conducting longitudinal studies to assess the guide's impact on learning and the development of professional competencies.