Nursing Curriculum

By
Mrs. Rajeswari
Associate.
professor
ACON
 Introduction
In today’s world of rapidly
shifting resources, institutions of
higher education are facing the
need to make numerous changes to
successfully meet the challenges of
the future. Creative, innovative
methods of curriculum delivery are
being exposed in an effort to
provide cost effective, quality
programming to an increasingly
diverse population of students.
 The term “curriculum” was first used
in Scotland as early as 1820 and became
part of education.

The term “curriculum” is a Latin word

“currere” which means running race or
runway, which one takes to reach goal.
 Definition
“Curriculum is defined as the formal and
informal content and process by which learners gain
knowledge and understanding, develop, skills, and
alter attitudes, appreciations and values under the
auspices of that school.”
- Ronald.c.Doll,1996

“Curriculum is a tool in the hands of the artist (teacher)

to mould his material (pupils) according to his ideals (aim
and objectives) in his studio (school)”.
- Cunningbam
Psychological Scientific

Determinants
Political

Philosophical

Sociological
Principles of Curriculum
Principles of Utility

Principle of flexibility

Principle of child-centeredness

Principle of life-centeredness

Principle of community-centeredness
Principles of Curriculum
Principle of correlation

Principle of activity-centeredness

Principle for the use of leisure

Principle of inter-relation of subject

Principle of development of culture

and civilization
Principles of Curriculum
Principle of need based activity

Principle of value-orientedness

Conservative principles

Principle of creative training

Principle of harmony
 Curriculum Development
Curriculum development is a deliberate process,
not a event, that takes concentrated time, effort and
faculty commitment.
The process consists of a series of systematic,
logical, dynamic spiraled and progressive stages that
can be time consuming and labor intensive.
 Stages of curriculum development
The directive • It lays foundation of all the other stages.
• Identify beliefs, knowledge and concepts.
stage • Formulation of theoretical framework in selection
& sequence of the content.

The formative • Philosophy of educational institution

• Objectives
stage • Nature/ content of nursing

Functional • Practical form of curriculum

• Planned teaching & learning
stage experiences.

• Input evaluation
• Throughput evaluation
Evaluative stage • Output evaluation
• Evaluation for curriculum revision.
 Phases of curriculum process
• The curriculum is based on the philosophy and purposes of the
school or college or university and its construction requires an
understanding of educational psychology together with
knowledge and skill in the principles and practice of nursing
education.
 FIVE PHASES IN CURRICULUM
PROCESS

Phase I- FORMULATING PHASE II – ESTABLISHMENT

PHASE III – SELECTION OF
THE STATEMENT OF OF PURPOSES AND
LEARNING EXPERIENCES TO
PHILOSPHY OF THE OBJECTIVES OF THE
ACHEVE THE PURPOSES
SCHOOL OR COLLEGE SCHOOL OR COLLEGE OR
OR UNIVERSITY. AND OBJECTIVES
UNIVERSITY.

PASHE IV – EFFECTING
ORGANIZATION OF THE PHASE V - EVALUATION OF
SELECTED LEARNING THE TOTAL PROGRAMME.
EXPERIENCE
Formulation of Selection of teaching
educational learning
objectives experiences

STEPS OF
CURRICULUM
DEVELOPMENT

Evaluation of Organization of
learning teaching –
objectives/ learning
outcomes experiences
Formulation Of Educational Objectives
Educational objectives formulated for a
given course of study will depend upon the
intended learning outcomes.
 In formulating educational objections, it
is best to use words or phrases (eg. to identify, to
differentiate, to evaluate, to perform a particular
task or procedure, to elicit a response from) that
describe, as precisely as
possible, measurable or observable learning
outcomes.
Phrases like ‘to know’, ‘to understand’,
and ‘to appreciate’, which are not precise enough
for this purpose, may however be used in
statements that describe the general goals of a
course/programme.
 Educational objectives will provide useful
guidelines for teachers to adopt a more systematic
approach in designing and planning instructional
strategies, particularly with respect to:
What to teach
How to teach
How to assess
What to evaluate
SELECTION OF LEARNING EXPERIENCES
 Learning experience is
defined as deliberately planned
experiences in selected situations
where students actively
participate, interact & which
result in desirable changes of
behavior in the students.
In nursing education,
selection of learning experience
is concerned with the decision
about the content of subject
matter & clinical, community &
laboratory practice.
 Criteria for the selection of Learning
Experiences
Learning experience should be:
Consistent with the philosophy
Varied & flexible enough
Give the students an opportunity to practice
Provide chance for the development of
independent thinking
Adapted to the needs of the student
Provide continuity, correlation & integration
Planned & evaluated co-operatively by the teacher &
the student
Selected & arranged to give appropriate emphasis &
weight age according to the relative importance of the
various L.Es & contents.

should allow the student to learn by doing

should create motivation & interest among students

selected should bring out multiple outcomes in

students
All learning experiences which are planned & selected
should be helpful to the student in attaining the
educational objectives.
 Organization of learning experiences
• It has to be done carefully, systematically &
sequentially
• Acc to Tyler, primary aim of organization of
learning experiences in the curriculum is to
bring & relate various learning experiences
together to produce the maximum.
• Continuity, sequence & integration has to be
followed
Learning experiences have to be vertically & horizontally
organized
In vertical organization, the L.E
planned for the entire curriculum have to be
arranged in such a way that the learning
progresses week by week, month by month,
semester to semester & year to year.
In horizontal, all the learning takes
place in different times & are automatically
related to learning of another situation or
subject.
 Elements of Organizing the Learning
Experiences
Grouping learning under subject headings
Preparation of master plan for curriculum
Placement of learning experiences in the total
curriculum
Preparation of the correlation chart
Organization of clinical experience
Types of teaching system have to be followed.
 Evaluation of the curriculum
Curriculum evaluation involves an
assessment of the philosophy of the institution,
programme goals, nursing content taught in each
course, course objectives, teaching – learning
methods, course evaluation methods & the
relationship of non- nursing courses to the overall
plan of study.
Evaluation of a curriculum should be
efficient & effective.
Five M’s of curriculum evaluation
Men & other personnel involved
Money
Materials
Methods
Minutes
 CORE CURRICULUM

The core curriculum According to

is a curriculum in fredgraves, core
which the concepts curriculum means the
central area of concern,
which are to be the central theme or
incorporated in the thread which provides
teaching learning the main route for the
situation forms the students through the
essence. curriculum or part of it.
The basis of the concept of core curriculum

Based on Fundamental human Continuous

philosophy of activities as a centre reconstruction
pragmatism and of learning. of experiences
experimentalism

Emphasis on
problem – Emphasis upon the Based on the
solving as an basic democratic cognitive theories of
important part values and the learning.
of learning. cultural factors.
 Related to educational
aspect of teaching and
does not take into
consideration the
specialization or
Guidance and diversification of Focus on the
counseling is courses common
an integral
problems of
part of core
the learners.
curriculum.

Chacteristics of
Time is provided for core curriculum
the completion of the To provide first hand
activity with experiences to the
multimedia learner.
approaches.

Flexible Aims at all

providing for round
the individual development
needs of the of the learner
learners
Knowledge Competence

Experience
 Knowledge centered curriculum
(subject centered)
Knowledge centered curriculum is
that curriculum in which knowledge is
divided in terms of isolated subjects, the
sequence followed is the logical sequence
pertaining to the particular discipline and the
logic is determined by the subject specialist.
 Competence based curriculum
(Task oriented or activity based curriculum)
“ what should a learner be able to do and
what she should learn during the course?” is
the basic question that drives the making of
such a curriculum plan.
The focus is on the tasks that a successful
graduate Nurse need to do later as a competent
professional.
The tasks could be of
Cognitive problem solving skills,
Definitive communication skills or
Mixed type encompassing more than one
domain.
Nursing curricula need to adopt this
approach more widely.
 Experience based curriculum

In this type of curriculum learner is

placed in the natural setting of the
community
Perhaps community oriented nursing
education is an ideal method of educating
learners.
New types of curriculum
As new
psychological,
philosophical and
sociological
principles modified
the educational
Corresponding to the process, new types
changes in the of curricula came
education system in into being.
our country or in
other countries there
have been changes in
the concepts and
form of curriculum.
New types of curriculums

The traditional or subject centered

curriculum.
Child centered curriculum

Activity curriculum

Experience curriculum

Un differential curriculum

Basic education curriculum

Official curriculum

Hidden curriculum
According to Olivia Bevis 4 types of curriculum

Legitimate Illegitimate
curriculum curriculum

Hidden
Null curriculum
curriculum
 • Includes the stated
curriculum framework
Official with philosophy and
curriculum: mission.

• Consists of what actually

The taught by the teacher and
how its importance is
operational communicated to the
curriculum: student.
 • This is
legitimate agreed by
curriculum the faculty

• This is the
curriculum that,
because of the
constrains of the
Illegitimate behavioral objectives
driven curriculum
curriculum: prevalent in nursing
cannot be graded or
officially
acknowledge.
 • It is the curriculum
that covertly
Hidden communicates
curriculum priorities, relationships
and values.

• This is the curriculum

that exists only in the
Null hearts and mind of
curriculum educators but seldom
exists in reality.
 Subject • Teacher centered – more
matter emphasis on subject
curriculum matter teacher
predominates.

• Learner
Activity centered/emphasis on all
curriculum round development of
learners.

• fusion of subjects E.g:

Integrated anatomy & physiology.
curriculum:
 Curriculum models

Curriculum models or conceptual models provide faculty with a

means of conceptualizing and organizing the knowledge, skills,
values & beliefs critical to the delivery of a coherent curriculum
that facilitates the achievement of the desired curriculum
outcomes.
Purpose of models.
Provide a
blueprint for
determining the
scope of
knowledge.

Highlight the
purpose they serve,
These are the their goals and
objectives, content
educational & methods of
road maps. instruction &
evaluation they
promote.
 Linear Development

Objectives or specific
Linear nursing As an educational
behaviors are
education models are blueprint, linear
established and a
objectives-driven, models can be
step-by-step program
emphasizing desired assessed to determine
is developed to teach
student-nurse if the stated objectives
students and achieve
outcomes. have been reached.
desired outcomes.
 Cyclic Models
Cyclic models portray nursing curriculum
development as a coherent and logical
procedure involving five specific mechanisms
including
Situational analysis,
Choice of objectives,
Content selection and arrangement,
Methods selection and arrangement and
Learning assessment.
This model assumes that what is being
taught is circular with no specific starting or
ending point.
Dynamic Models

Complex, flexible, interactive

and dynamic, this model
encourages curriculum The model urges nursing
development participants to educators, nurses, doctors,
debate, argue and discuss the students and health care
curriculum approach until
arriving at an agreed-upon result. community leaders to have
involvement and input in the
curriculum design and
development.
THE TYLER MODEL

In 1949, Ralph Tyler, a

consultant with the University
of Washington School of
Nursing, introduced "Syllabus
for Education 360," which was
then revised in 1950 to "Basic
Principles of Curriculum and
Instruction."

Tyler's model was

based on objectives
or "goal-attainment,"
according to Keating.
 This is considered the
Classic Curriculum Model, The Tyler Model remains
one of the earliest ideas in the foundation for a
education that leads to the performance-based
measurement of outcomes. nursing curriculum.
Tyler identified four principles for teaching:
Defining
appropriate
learning objectives.

Establishing useful
learning
experiences.
Organizing learning
experiences to have
a maximum
cumulative effect.
Evaluating the curriculum
and revising those aspects
that did not prove to be
effective.
STENHOUSE’S PROCESS MODEL

Lawrence ( 1975) formulated the

process model. This is an input model
ie emphases on learning experience or
the process of education.

He believed that it was possible to

organize curriculum without having to
specify in advance the expected
behavioral change in students.

According the content of curriculum

can be selected on the basis that is
suitable in itself and not merely as the
means to achieve behavioral
objective.
LAWTON'S CULTURAL ANALYSIS MODEL

Lawton's model ( This model Cultural analysis is

1983) was a proposes a the process by
reaction against curriculum which the selection
what he saw was as planned on the is made from the
the dangers of the technique of culture and in
behavioral cultural analysis. terms of curriculum
objectives models. planning.
BEATTIES FOUR FOLD MODEL

Beattie’s ( 1987 ) suggests that

there are four fundamental
approaches in relation to the
task of planning a curriculum
for nursing
 The curriculum as
The curriculum as a
schedule of basic
map of key subjects :
skills : this approach
approach consists of
emphasis the explicit
mapping out the key
specifications of basic
subjects in nursing
skills of nursing
curriculum.
practice.

The curriculum as a
The curriculum as an
portfolio of meaning
agenda of important
this approach places
cultural issues; this
the student this
approach avoids giving
approach places the
detailed subject matter,
students at the centre
focusing instead on
of thing by organizing
controversial issues and
the curriculum around
political dilemmas in
their interests and
nursing and health care.
experiences.
FORMULATING
PHILOSOPHY OF
EDUCATION
YOU AS A TEACHER

Your philosophy of
education is your
“window” to the world
and “compass” in life.

Your attitude
towards Your philosophy of
education is reflected
problems and in your dealings with
life as whole students, colleagues,
has an parents and
underlying administrators.
philosophy.
WHAT DOES A PHILOSOPHY OF
EDUCATION CONTAIN OR INCLUDE?

the human person, the

learner in particular and the
educated person.

what is true and good and

therefore must be taught.

how a learner must be

taught in order to come
close to the truth.
Formulation of philosophy of nursing education

It is important
The program
that faculty
must integrate Philosophy sets
must have broad
the philosophy the goals( e.g
based
of learning what is expected
agreement on
outcomes( of a nurse after
the philosophy
objectives) of the successful
because such
the program completion of a
agreement is
within the program)
fundamental to
curriculum as through the
the consistent
there is a close completion of
interpretation,
relationship curriculum we
implementation
between the achieve the goals
and evaluation
philosophy and set.
of the
the curriculum.
curriculum.
FORMULATION OF PHILOSOPHY

Formulation of
philosophy requires the
staff should hold
discussion and come to
unanimous decisions as
to what is desirable and
feasible in the interest of
the students, school and
profession.
 Stated
clearly

Philosophy
must be

Related to Concise
curriculum terms
HOW TO FORM A PHILOSOPHY

A personal Forming your own

Developing a philosophy is a philosophy is quite
personal philosophy framework that difficult, especially
can be a deeply helps you for beginners, but
rewarding life understand who you the rewards
experience. are and make sense definitely make it
of your life. worth a try.
Steps
1. Understand that you are starting a lifelong journey.

Commit to being open-

minded and flexible.

Every conscious person has

a philosophy.

Individual philosophies can

be simple, developing, or
well-developed.
A personal philosophy is a
fundamental and integrated
understanding about
existence and your
relationship to all related
issues.
Discovering and developing one's
philosophy requires self-awareness, a
desire to understand, and the will and
ability to learn.

Commit to looking for meaning and

discern what makes sense.

Your goal is to start on a path of

personal growth that will evolve and
mature as you pursue the love of
wisdom (philosophia) for that is what
philosophy means.
2 Start reading and learning

Start with what interests you and try

to get a sense of the big ideas that
philosophers are concerned with.

As you learn look for connections

between ideas and subjects to find
coherence and/or arguments.
3 Choose a type
Philosophical thought is organized
around many types of philosophies
including: axiology, ontology,
aesthetics, epistemology, ethics,
logic, metaphysics and political
theory. Follow your interests.

Feel free to choose more

You will enjoy thinking
than one type because
through how to meld
you see particular
them successfully.
linkages.
After deciding a philosophy type,
learn the background history of
your chosen philosophy,
including readings from the key
philosophers.

Understand the key questions that

were addressed and get a solid
understanding of the key
concepts.

Improve your basic

understanding of other types of
philosophies.
• You cannot be an expert in everything but recognize that there
is great value in understanding the basics of what others have
done.

• A broad understanding of what people are struggling with and

what the discussions have been about will help you to develop
your own personal philosophy.

• Feel free to learn and build on existing ideas.

• It is difficult starting from scratch, so why not take another
philosopher's ideas as a basic framework to get started? Many
well known philosophers started like this.
• For example, Plato took the undoubtedly oral and sociable
Socratic method from the real Socrates, and used it as the basis
for his highly polished literary Socratic method, which in turn
was taken by Aristotle to form the basis of Logic particularly
syllogisms.
 4 Expand and evolve your thinking.

The framework you have selected is a starting point.

As you experience life, test it out and see what works

for you and what doesn't.

When you have time analyze this and refine your

framework philosophy.

Over time, as you solve problems and assess the quality of

the decisions you have made, you will be able to evolve
from where you started into something autonomous of the
original philosophy.

Become a critical thinker.

Keep track of where you have obtained the basis for ideas,
tenets, theories, etc., in your new philosophy.

Being able to trace your theorizing or conclusions back to

their source will help you defending your ideas or pushing
them further.

Very little develops in a vacuum.

Referring to what other philosophers have said gives your

philosophy greater credibility because you are displaying your
depth of knowledge and understanding of existing
philosophies.
5 Be patient and allow your ideas to percolate over time.

When you have spare time, analyze the

framework of your nascent philosophy, and try
to find problems and solutions.
Taking the development of your philosophy
gradually will allow it to evolve into something
autonomous of the original philosophy.
 Keep a journal and continue writing down
your thoughts and ideas, even if they're not
coherent.
Patience is essential because it may take you
years to sort through all the discarded notions to
find the treasure buried underneath.
The passage of time is healthy, as it allows
your ideas to keep evolving and to be tested by
daily events.
Ask some pertinent questions, such as:

What is the purpose of your philosophy?

Do you want to apply it to all of society or just a sector?
What is your role in your philosophy?
What, if any, are the roles of particular people in your philosophy?
How will you explain the basis of your philosophy to others? Is it helpful on a
practical level, or Utopian?
How do other belief sets or philosophies fit in with or go against your
philosophy?
Are you willing to write down a thesis or book of your philosophy? Or would
you rather write stories that contain your philosophy but are not overtly a
philosophical work in structure?
 6 Talk to others interested in philosophy.

They can point out faults you

might have missed and give
different solutions.

This is helpful for developing

your philosophy.

Join a local philosophy group,

club, or chapter.

Join an online group that has

private forums where you can
share your ideas freely and get
responses.
Visit your local university and ask
to speak with philosophy
professors to share your thoughts
with them.
If you find someone
else who really
It is hard to follow
understands where
someone else while
your new philosophy
they are still working
is headed, embrace
out what it is that
their enthusiasm but
they believe, so their
take care to keep
enthusiasm may just
working on your
be because they like
understandings
and trust you.
separate from their
enthusiasm.
7
7. Actively find/seek out new experiences to help to see
things in different ways and from different angles.

Keep an open mind.

Learn to accept criticism and

grow from it; it might just
help strengthen you and your
philosophy.

Always have a pencil and

a notebook to note down
ideas as they occur to you, or
you come across them.
8. Keep reading philosophy.

It will allow you to see

previous philosophers'
attempts, what they found,
and what fallacies they fell
into; thus, progressing your
own philosophy.

This will also help you to see

whether or not you are
attempting something that a
previous philosopher has
already tried.
 9 Keep up to date with the world.

•Try reading a newspaper once in a

while.
•It'll help you apply theories to real
situations.
•For example, take a serious news story
that involves issues impacting on many
sectors of society and ask yourself:
"What would I have done?" Work your
answers into your developing
philosophy to see if it can withstand
actual events and provide explanations,
instruction, or greater understanding.
10 See yourself as a philosopher, whether or not you
work as one.

A career in philosophy, or
similar roles such as a
researcher in a think-tank
or institute, will ensure you
dedicate regular time to
your philosophy, but for the
part-time philosopher make
sure you dedicate enough
time to it so you keep
improving and don't forget
bits of your work.
11 Try as much as possible to live up to your thoughts, even when you are
experiencing something uncanny that may distract you from your opinions.

Get back to those notes

that you have made
about your philosophy
or the inspiring books
that you have been
reading. It'll help.
Planning and implementation of
curriculum

Curriculum
planning is done at
the society level,
institutional level
and at the
instructional level
or teacher level.
At the society level, various programs in various disciples are
developed to pre pare various categories of personnel to serve
specific needs of the society.

E.g: engineering , nursing, Para medical courses, law etc.

This is mainly to balance the societal needs and are mainly

developed by either the regulatory bodies such as Indian medical
association, Indian nursing council or universities.
 At the institutional level, the faculty and
the curriculum committee of the program,
decides the curriculum of the course
confining with the regulatory bodies.

Curriculum philosophy , objectives, units

of subject matter and evaluation strategy
for each of the course are worked out to
ensure continuity, progression in learning,
to avoid gaps and non productive
repetition in subject matter content.
At instructional level, the teacher plans the
course, units and lessons, selects and
mobilizes teaching learning material,
arranges teaching learning environment ,
helps and guides students to move forward
towards the goals.

Planning of course, its units

and lessons if planned
systematically ensures
cohesion among the various
components of lessons, units
and the various courses.
Curriculum Revision / Changing
the Curriculum
 Curriculum Revision means making the
curriculum different in some way to give it a new
position or direction
This often means alteration to its philosophy
by way of its aims & objectives, reviewing the
content included, revising its methods & re
thinking its evaluatory procedures.
Approaches to Curriculum Revision:
Addition
Deletion
Reorganization
STAGES OF CURRICULUM REVISION

Fred greaves describes the 7 stages in revising a nursing

curriculum

Stage I: Formation of Curriculum development & evaluation

committee

Stage II: Appraise the existing nursing & educational practices

Stage III: make a detailed study of the existing curriculum content

Stage IV: establish criteria for decisions

Stage V: Design & writing of the new curriculum changes
Stage VI: within this stage the actual implementation of
changes put into action
Stage VII: evaluate the effects of those changes & it is with
evaluation that this final stage is concerned.
ROLE OF CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
MEMBERS

The process of curriculum

construction is a cooperative
effort.

In this national agencies,

regional and local level agencies,
principals and the teachers as
well as community members are
involved.
 NATIONAL AGENCY
In Indian situation for the planning of secondary
level curriculum the agency involved at the central
level is National Council Of Educational Research
And Training (NCERT).
It frames the curriculum and circulates it for
adoption to state departments of education, boards
of examination etc.

It frames the curriculum in consultation with

experts, subject teachers, and heads of institutions.

Its task is to frame the curriculum in keeping with

the national policy on education.

The curriculum framework prepared by it is only

suggestive and it is for the state governments and
boards of Examination to accept it, modify it or
reject it.
STATE GOVERNMENT

As mention above the NCERT Every state government appoints a

board of examination for secondary
prepares the curriculum which and higher secondary examination.
is suggestive in nature and it This board prescribes the curriculum
is the state government who which has to be followed in all the
decides to select, modify or institution which are to be recognized
for sending their students for public
rejected. examination conducted by the board.

Each board has a subject

committee which prescribes
the content of the courses in
that subject.
INDIAN NURSING COUNCIL

Indian Nursing Council plays a major

role in the development & revision
of the nursing curriculum

Nursing Educational Committee ,

part of INC will prepare the
curriculum for the prescribed
courses.

Members of the committee only

will have an opportunity to
participate in curriculum
development & revision.
THE ROLE OF TEACHERS

Only those teachers who are

the part of committee have
the opportunity to participate
in this process.

The teachers working in aided and

recognized schools have no freedom
to plan their own curriculum. But ,
the teachers working in experimental
innovative schools may have the
opportunity to do so.

But for the most of teachers it is not

possible to do so. They may only
have some freedom in the
transacting the curriculum in
prescribed framework.
THE NEED FOR RESEARCH IN NURSING

Nursing research is a needed in nursing

practice, education, administration,
management.

Nursing research needed to discover, verify,

structure and restructure the professional
knowledge through systematic way.
Research is the only way to:

– Build a body of nursing knowledge

– Validate improvements in nursing

– Make health care efficient as well as cost effective

Nursing are expected to deliver the highest quality

care.
To get high quality need to update new knowledge
through nursing research.
It is needed to implement the research into a scientific
approach of facts finding.
IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH IN NURSING
CURRICULUM

To improve the quality of care.

To update the knowledge.

Research allows nurses to question their

practice, find answers and thus implement
into their area.

Evidence based practice.

 Conclusion
Curriculum is considered as the blueprint of an educational
program.

We need to consider how to design the curriculum that would

work in the globalized world and for globalization, how to design the
curriculum that accommodates diversity and differences, how to
design the curriculum that is meaningful to the students, and how to
design the curriculum that reflects to the concepts of the profession.

Nursing curriculum is the learning opportunities and the

learning activities that the faculty plans and implement in various
settings for a particular group of students, for a specified period of
time in order to attain the objectives.