Chapter 10

Establishing Philosophical and

Educational Approaches for an Evidence-

Informed, Context-Relevant, Unified

Curriculum

Overview

• Understanding the definitions and purposes of philosophy will facilitate the formulation of curriculum outcomes.

• Philosophical approaches from both educational and nursing educational perspectives are relevant in formulating curriculum outcomes.

Curriculum Philosophy

• Philosophy is the study of the most general and abstract features of the world and categories with which we think:– Mind, Matter– Reason– Proof– Truth

• A curriculum philosophy is part of the curriculum foundation.

Curriculum Philosophy (cont.)

• A curriculum philosophy provides a basis for:– Development, implementation, evaluation.– Shaping students’ ideas about clients, nursing,

and health care.– Discussions about curriculum practices, and

preferences.– Professional development– Decision making for the profession

Curriculum Philosophy (cont.)

• Curriculum philosophy in nursing education– Ideas possibly included in a nursing education

or curriculum philosophy are beliefs about:• Nature of learning• Purposes of the curriculum• Roles of faculty and students.• Nature of faculty-student interactions• Other values — social justice, diversity, or service

Curriculum Philosophy (cont.)

• Curriculum philosophies– Idealism: truth is universal, values unchanging,

desire to live in perfect world of ideals.– Realism: natural laws compose the world and

all of nature. – Perennialism: disciplining of the mind,

development of reasoning ability.– Essentialism: cultural heritage must be

preserved, it is the role of education to do so.

Curriculum philosophy (cont.)

• Curriculum philosophies (cont.)– Progressivism: the growth of students should

be the center of educational activities, and not the subject matter.

– Reconstructionism: the purpose of education is to improve society – students are exposed to controversial social problems, study them, and reach solutions through consensus.

Ideas about Teaching and Learning as Part of Curriculum Philosophy• Learning theories

– Broad categories of theories evident in nursing education curricula include:• Behaviorist• Cognitive• Humanist• Social and Situational• Integrated

Ideas about Teaching and Learning as Part of Curriculum Philosophy (cont.)

• Science of learning (brain-based learning)– As cognitive neuroscience continues to provide

insights into mental processes, teaching will be more science-based, more “brain-based.”

– Five firmly established brain facts:• Each brain is unique.• Brains are highly plastic.• All brains are not equal in problem-solving ability.• The brain connects new information to old.• The brain is changed by experience.

Ideas about Teaching and Learning as Part of Curriculum Philosophy (cont.)

• Science of learning (brain-based learning) (cont.)– Emotions and physiological processes may

have an impact on teaching and learning.– Robust learning entails:

• Long-term retention.• Preparation for further and deeper learning and

application.• Transfer of knowledge to new situations.

Ideas about Teaching and Learning as Part of Curriculum Philosophy (cont.)

• Learning theories, educational frameworks, and pedagogies– Adult learning (Andragogy)– Apprenticeship– Cognitive constructivism– Critical social theory– Deep learning– Epistemology– Feminism and feminist pedagogy

Ideas about Teaching and Learning as Part of Curriculum Philosophy (cont.)

• Learning theories, educational frameworks, and pedagogies (cont.)– Humanism– Learner-centeredness (student-centeredness)– Narrative pedagogy– Phenomenology– Postmodernism– Pragmatism– Transformative learning

Philosophical and Educational Approaches

• Developing philosophical and educational approaches– Subcommittee should draft a statement of

philosophical and educational approaches.– Task can be split among two subgroups with

results combined later. – A literature search should be performed.– Subcommittee should understand beliefs,

values of colleagues, as all will be implementing the curriculum.

Philosophical and Educational Approaches (cont.)

• Confirming philosophical and educational approaches– Consensus among the total faculty group

cannot be overemphasized.– Agreement about philosophical and

educational approaches are essential before subsequent curriculum work is undertaken.

Relationship of PhilosophicalEducational Approaches

• Philosophical and educational approaches are statements of faculty value orientation.

• Derived ideas ensure that curriculum foundations are context-relevant and evidence-informed.

• Inclusion of major curriculum concepts, key nursing abilities adds to conceptual and visual unity of the curriculum.

Core Processes of Curriculum Work

• Faculty development– Values and beliefs about nursing, education,

persons, learning, etc. should be discussed.– Discussion can serve to clarify and examine

beliefs; used as source of information.• Ongoing appraisal

– Inherent part of discussions resulting in statement of philosophical and educational approaches.

Core Processes of CurriculumWork (cont.)

• Scholarship– Description of processes and discussions

undertaken to develop statements may be instructive to faculty at other schools.

– Faculty members describe involvement in decisions, and their subsequent degree of commitment to the decisions.

– Survey of nursing schools to find philosophical and educational approaches in use.