There maybe civilian study courses out there which are better, but I haven't seen them. My experience of them is that they try to acheive what CFS do but fall short of the mark. The only exception to this is the guys at 'On Track' but they are mostly ex CFS and thier course follows CFS guidelines.
I have flown with some Civilian instructors and I can't believe what they come out with some times. It's not their fault, they become instructors with a 35 flying hour course which is enough to cover the basics but doesn't allow much honing or improvment over the minimum standards, especially if they aren't the sharpest in the first place.
However, they can't be blamed as civilian instructor courses are trying to provide at service at a competitive price and don't have the time and facilities of the CFS course. Also, you will find that the syllabus used by a large part of the world follows the CFS syllabus pretty closely and has done since the founding of CFS in 1913 (I think). This is because there is little original thought regarding syllabi except from those who are there to refine and improve it - ie an organisation such as CFS.
Dave Bloke. PM me and I will e-mail you my airborne cribs.