A GROUNDED THEORY OF NURSE-EDUCATOR CURRICULA.
Contributors: University of Alabama.
Published: 1985
Number of pages: 128
Subjects: Education, Higher.
Description: The notion that nurse educators exert a powerful influence on the quality of nursing education and therefore should be specially prepared for their role is not new. Strangely, however, nursing literature is essentially devoid of research on the preparation of nurse educators. Specifically, the premises on which nurse-educator curricula rest have not been explicated. The purpose of this study was to discover a grounded theory of nurse-educator curricula.

Interviews were conducted with the directors of 23 National League for Nursing-accredited master's nursing programs that offer students the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills specific to teaching nursing. An interview guide developed by the researcher was used to elicit information about the structure, content, processes, and outcomes of nurse-educator curricula.

A substantive theory of nurse-educator curricula was generated from data that were systematically and simultaneously collected, coded, compared, and analyzed using the constant comparative method. The theory was presented in the form of propositional statements which explain and interpret contemporary nurse-educator curricula: (1) Nurse-educator curricula reflect American Nurses' Association and National League for Nursing directives and are organized around five distinct structural components: (a) core, (b) clinical specialization, (c) research, (d) electives, and (e) functional role development. (2) The teaching/education content of nurse-educator curricula reflects efforts to make available within a curriculum of reasonable length knowledge and skills essential for beginning teaching positions in nursing. (3) The process through which nurse-educator curricula are implemented reflect acknowledgment of diverse student characteristics. (4) Master's level functional role preparation in teaching is viewed as an interim step for nurses who aspire to faculty positions in schools of nursing in higher education institutions. Supporting evidence from interviews and documentary sources was offered to substantiate each proposition.

The substantive theory generated through this research could serve as a foundation for the reevaluation of functional preparation in the area of teaching. In particular, it may be used to inform future curricular decision making for master's and doctoral programs which include preparation for teaching nursing.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-11, Section: A, page: 3265.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA, 1985.

School code: 0004.