Learning Professional Knowledge: Bachelor Nursing Students\u2019 Experiences in Learning and Knowledge Quality Outcomes in a Competence-Based Curriculum

Ria Den Hertog,Henny P A Boshuizen

doi:10.1007/s12186-021-09274-4

Abstract

Since decades, nursing education struggles with a persistent gap between the theoretical knowledge offered in the study program and its application in professional practice. To bridge this gap competence-based curricula were developed with instructional designs as authentic learning contexts and self-directed learning. In this project we explored final year Bachelor Nursing (BN) students’ experiences in learning in a newly developed curriculum, and their knowledge quality outcomes and the degree of agreement with knowledge requirements. An instrumental multiple case study was conducted with interviews, concept mapping and a domain knowledge list. Results show that a third of the participants had positive learning experiences and got high appraisals for their knowledge quality. Similar to the medium and low scoring participants, they developed instrumental knowledge but integrated other forms of learning into a system of meaning, which is needed to solve non-routine problems in future practice. Medium and low scoring participants did not profit from learning in authentic contexts and self-directed learning. In conclusion, developing sufficient professional knowledge in a constructivist competence-based curriculum is influenced by students’ intrinsic motivation to build a strong knowledge base, by their perception of how to learn and use professional knowledge, and their expectations of the degree of supervision and guidance by the teacher. It is recommended to evaluate the extent to which the intended curriculum is being taught.

Highlights

Learning professional knowledge consists of learning theoretical, experiential, selfregulative and social-cultural knowledge to understand what is happening in professional practice and why, and how to act as may be expected of a professional
The first research sub question was how do final year Bachelor Nursing (BN) students describe their experiences with self-directed learning in authentic contexts in the competence-based curriculum and how do students differ
Final year BN students liked to reflect on their experiences in learning in the competence-based curriculum with self-directed learning in authentic contexts

Summary

Introduction

Learning professional knowledge consists of learning theoretical, experiential, selfregulative and social-cultural knowledge to understand what is happening in professional practice and why, and how to act as may be expected of a professional. Many vocational courses embraced the concept of competence-based curricula, wherein knowledge, skills and attitudes are offered in an integrated way, so that knowledge is better transferred, and norms, values, and motivations become more central in professional learning (Van Merriënboer & Kirschner, 2018). The Dutch nursing association ‘Nurses and Professional Caregivers’ recognised similar problems in their domain and commissioned the development of a new national competence-based training profile for bachelor nursing students (Lambregts et al, 2016). Following up on these developments, the aim of the current research was to explore Bachelor Nursing (BN) students’ experiences in Learning Professional Knowledge: Bachelor Nursing Students’

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Conclusion