Conclusion

There is always more to be said on a topic such as curriculum development, which has many facets, many configurations and many processes. No single text will ever be complete, but we believe this one is adequate to support nurse educators who want to embark on major curriculum revision. To speed you on your way, we would like to conclude with a few pieces of advice we canvassed from the contributors. This is the one thing each one of them would like the curriculum team to keep in mind. Leana: We have a saying in Afrikaans ‘Haas jou langsaam’ which translates into ‘Hurry up slowly’. When embarking on major curriculum change, you have to move fast, since such a change takes so long to have an effect. Your first graduate from a new 4-year programme will only be produced 4 years from implementation date! Nevertheless, you also have to go slowly. You have to give yourself enough time to explore possibilities, think them through, prepare your whole school for the change, make sure your plans are coherent and that your staff can actually do what is asked of them, and put all the paperwork in place. All this takes time. So, go forward fast, but do it slowly! I know this was supposed to be one piece of advice, but here is another one; when considering an external person to facilitate the curriculum change process, I would like to mention a few considerations. It is useful to have a person who uses the same language as your school teaches in. This allows the expert to become familiar with your system by reading your documents, and it allows for better understanding than through translators. A second consideration is to use a person who comes from a similar setting. It may be difficult for a person from a resource-rich system to assist a resource-poor system to overcome its barriers, since the person has never faced such challenges. Similarly, it might be difficult for a person from a hospital-based programme to assist a school to develop a community-based programme. Therefore you should choose a person who knows the kind of programme you want to develop. Lastly, choose a person who is willing to be involved over a period of time, and not one who will come once only for a brief period, and then leave you to struggle on your own. Thandi: The need for a visionary and facilitative leader is invaluable in ensuring effective and successful implementation. Teachers need to know that there is someone they can count on to guide the process, to anticipate problems and help them find solutions; someone who will champion their cause to those responsible for funding and allocation of resources. Asking teachers to do too much with too little does not augur well for curriculum development and implementation. Curriculum change can be daunting for a number of teachers. The experience is fraught with feelings of uncertainty and anxiety for some. Monitoring and dealing with staff concerns during the curriculum development and the implementation process is one of the most important things a change agent will have to do. Curriculum change takes place in the classroom. Teachers are professionals in their own right, they have their own beliefs and values about the purpose of education and what is worthwhile nursing education. Involve them very early in the change process. Make them feel they own the change. This requires a concerted effort in staff capacity development. Literature abounds with accounts of failed innovations due to lack of capacity to implement new curriculum.

Learning new ways of doing things takes time. Curriculum change agents must realize this and make a concerted effort to walk alongside the teachers as they begin their journey of discovery in an effort to learn the requisite knowledge and skills demanded by the introduction of a new curriculum. Last but not the least; students are just as wary of change as the staff. Curriculum change that involves students assuming responsibility for their own learning, using alternative clinical placements, or any aspect of the curriculum that breaks away from tradition can be met with resistance from the students. Students want to know what effect the change will have on national and international recognition of their qualifications; they also want to know what the teachers will be doing, if they have to be self-directing in their learning. Unless students are part of the decision to change, sharing the vision and the philosophy underpinning a new and innovative curriculum, it would be very difficult for them to appreciate and accept a curriculum that requires more from them than is traditionally the case. Fikile: Innovations in nursing education are imperative because of the dynamics in society and in the workplace. However, successful implementation of these innovations requires careful consideration of a number of issues. Among these issues is that change is accompanied by uncertainty, anxieties, fear and resistance, which could be avoided by the early involvement of staff in decision-making regarding the innovation and through proper planning and preparation for the proposed change. Secondly, as nursing education institutions are supposed to be working in collaboration with the health service and surrounding communities, the proposed change should be communicated with these stakeholders to make them part of the change process, especially because they will be involved in the teaching of students and they will be the consumers of the produced product. Thirdly, available resources should be adapted creatively to meet the needs for the change, as innovations might be heavy on resources. Lastly, the innovation should comply with the country’s nursing education regulations and accreditation standards because the school is not preparing graduates for the sake of preparing them but for them to be able to render service competently to the community at large. Henry: The process of curriculum development and review is dynamic. As a tool to guarantee the quality of an educational programme, the curriculum should always meet the criteria of a good standard, which include reliability, validity, clarity and being realistic. Therefore, it needs constant review whenever there are indications that due to one reason or the other, those criteria are not being met. A curriculum review should be done after carrying out an evaluation of the curriculum currently in use and the evaluation should include all the stakeholders, especially the graduates of the programme, but also the tutors/lecturers, the community being served, and management/policymakers. A team of subject experts and curriculum experts should constitute the review committee. Marilyn: When introducing change, be sure to take academic staff along with you, i.e., academic staff must believe that: (a) change is necessary and (b) this is the most appropriate change. Find a champion, someone who has experience with the new element(s) and is willing to lead in the change process. For example, if you wish to semesterize a programme, find someone familiar with semesterized academic programmes. Pilot the change, for example, start with a small group such as 1 year of a programme or one department in a school, etc. Develop staff members as necessary to assist in implementation of the change. For example, if you are introducing change in