The Critical Incident Technique–a brief guide

Flanagan's critical incident technique conceived in the dark days of World War II has stood the test of time. It has been successfully used by researchers as a means to identify those activities essential to good practice in a profession and as a tool to delineate the competencies needed by the members of the profession under study. Now, with problem-based learning being adopted as a principal curricular method in several new medical schools, e.g. at McMaster (Canada), Newcastle (Australia), Maastricht (Netherlands), interest in Flanagan's work has been revived–as a method for determining the curriculum.Flanagan's technique has been subject to modest criticism but it has secured extensive educational currency since it first appeared. Its purchasing power, after four decades of international exchange, has not weakened. Indeed, indications are that its stock is rising still and that educationists who have not already done so should invest in this part of the market.