An overview of the process of curriculum

development

•Developing a curriculum is a major task, which should be seen as an ongoing process, rather than a one-off event. It commences when the nursing education institution makes a decision to develop a new curriculum, but it is

never really completed .

•A programme

•This is a coherent set of courses, leading to a certain degree, diploma or certificate. In a programme there might be both core (compulsory) and optional courses (electives) (Vroeijenstein, 1995).

•A course

•This is a building block of a programme, consisting of a time-limited component, usually over one term (3 months), one semester (6 months) or 1 year, and usually ending with a summative evaluation.

•A subject or a discipline

•This is a clearly identifiable area of knowledge that considers and reviews a specific set of phenomena from a particular perspective, often using unique research methods (Miller, 1987).

•A module

•This is a unit within a programme or a course, which can be examined separately (modular instruction) or at the end of the course. It is sometimes left to the student to decide the order in which the modules are taken.

A level

•A programme can have only one level, or can be made up of a number of levels. A level is a period during which the subjects or courses taken are at a similar level of difficulty, for instance first year courses might all be introductory courses to different subjects. At the end of a level, a decision is usually made about the progression of the student, based on a comprehensive assessment of the

student’s performance.

The process of curriculum development

•Curriculum development is the process of deciding what to teach and learn, along with the considerations needed to make such decisions. It includes aspects such as tasks, roles, expectations, resources, time and space, and the ordering of all these elements to create a curriculum plan or document (Behar, 1994).. It is usually aimed at improving the situation, and therefore includes some form of evaluation and is carefully documented or described (Behar, 1994).

Steps in the processIn the prescriptive approach to curriculum development, the

following steps are followed to develop a curriculum:

Step 1: Establish the context and foundations

Step 2: Formulate the outcomes or objectives

Step 3: Select a curriculum model and develop a macro-curriculum

Step 4: Develop the micro-curriculum

Step 5: Plan for the evaluation of implementation and outcomes

The product

•What does a comprehensive curriculum document consist of? Nevertheless, there are a number of documents that should be included if a description of the curriculum for a programme is to be given.

•The situation analysis

•This can be given as a separate component, or be incorporated into other components, such as a motivation or rationale for the programme, or a description of the setting and resources.

A philosophy or mission statement

•One would expect that the teaching/learning philosophy of the school would be the same for all programmes, although the focus might shift somewhat from pre-registration to post-registration programmes. Such a philosophy can be in the form of a written statement, or a model or theoretical framework. It should be substantiated by the literature and the situation analysis.