Introduction
At the present time, the education system is designed to produce specialists who learn continuously and are engaged in furthering the cause of their profession. A high-quality education system is achieved using significant academic contributions, including curriculum, learning environment, and competent teachers (Budiharso & Tarman, 2020). The The curriculum gives life to the academic processes by transforming institutional vision into action. Curriculum analysis is unpacking a curriculum into parts, such as knowledge, resources, learning, and teaching while checking underlying assumptions or beliefs (Budiharso & Tarman, 2020). The essence is the evaluation of how multiple parts align and how the choices made by creators are justified. Nova Southeastern University (NSU) has approximately 18 schools, colleges, and centers offering more than 150 programs. Among the colleges in the College of Nursing (CON) with a mission is to train aspiring nurses in multiple disciplines by focusing on underserved areas. The institution trains learners to foster teamwork, acknowledge the diversity of populations, and consider the ethical issues of healthcare delivery. Collaboration is necessary when serving the public, and the CON’s earliest programs highlight this requirement.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of the study is to determine congruence between the core values, course description, and course objectives of a curriculum in the course “NUR 3130: Foundations of Professional Nursing Practice.” Moreover, the paper aims to review the alignment between the mission and philosophy of NSU and CON.
The Importance of Congruence
Curriculum congruence is a process of sequence and alignment of all its components, including course description, course objectives, and core values. The connection between the concepts of evaluation, learning, and teaching happens by analyzing initial plans of a course, actual content taught in class, the methods of teaching employed, what was learned, testing, and evaluation approaches used (Zhang & Cui, 2018). Core values are the key aspects of one’s profession and the basis of service delivery. Course descriptions summarize the important learning experiences in a course. Course objectives focus on actions, behaviors, or skills demonstrated by learners after mastering something.
With predetermined course objectives, students and instructors know what is expected of them within a specific period and the resources needed. Therefore, an aligned curriculum improves teaching by assessing learners’ progress effectively. Test performances are thus used to determine if the decisions made before, during, and after studies have potential sanctions or rewards in students’ future careers. Most curriculum developers are educators responsible for curriculum congruence and must always be aware of stakeholders’ needs and be prepared to act.
Congruence between the core values, course description, and course objectives in a curriculum facilitates the timing, preparation, and accountability of educational stakeholders (Walpole et al., 2017). Today, most industries are challenged by cost-effectiveness, acuity, technological advancement, and quality assurance. To conquer the complexities of preparedness and timing, curriculums should impose multiple competencies and values on learners. The most common values are integrity, professionalism, originality, quality social awareness, and competence. The core competencies include decision-making, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Thus, curriculum congruence prepares students to work at individual, community, societal, or family levels. It also prepares them for the transformation of learned knowledge into various settings.
The Congruence of the NSU’s Mission and Philosophy with the CON’s Mission Statement and Core Values
NSU and CON are committed to serving the community, as evidenced in their mission statements. NSU’s mission is to offer various innovative academic programs using the available resources and opportunities while fostering leadership, intellectual inquiry, research, academic excellence, and commitment to society. The mission of CON is to provide high-quality programs for undergraduate and graduate students, creating and upholding an atmosphere of professionalism, collaboration, community service, and scholarly inquiry (Ron and Kathy Assaf College of Nursing [CON], 2021). The missions are clear, concise, and informative such that they cover the values, purpose, and activities of stakeholders. Moreover, they aim to maximize the number of professionals in different settings by exposing the students’ bodies to the challenges and needs of underserved urban and rural communities.
NSU’s philosophy and the core values of CON are congruent in their desire to produce alumni who serve with integrity. The college’s core values are compassion, courage, competence, creativity, stewardship, and integrity (CON, 2021). The university’s philosophy is to excel in learning, teaching service, and research innovations. The success will, in turn, lead to recognition by the public, scholars, and accrediting agencies as the best institution within its ranks to offer distinct high-quality studies and graduates. The college and the university pursue academic and professional excellence and a commitment to community service.
The Congruence of a Specific Course
The course “Foundations of Professional Nursing Practice” is a beginner’s introduction to nursing and its main pillars. The description for this class emphasizes the value of holistic and effective care. Furthermore, it highlights the nursing students’ skills that would make them not just health providers but advocates, leaders, educators, and coordinators. This course description, therefore, is fully aligned with the core values of the college, valuing compassion, integrity, stewardship, and competence.
The course objectives are also clear, as they outline the specific results that the course aims to see in students. All objectives described in the course are present in the description, including the components of nursing, necessary skills, evidence-based practice, stewardship and integrity, holistic care, and advocacy and ethics of nursing. Thus, using both the description and the objectives, a student can anticipate what will happen during the program and, in the end, evaluate its effectiveness in reaching set goals.
Similar to the course’s description, its objectives are also in line with the CON’s core values. For example, the first objective centered on delivering compassionate nursing care to diverse populations corresponds to such values as compassion and stewardship. As the course also encourages identifying the role of evidence-based practice, a valuable and challenging objective in modern nursing (Hande et al., 2017), it upholds the college’s values of competence.
It should also be noted that the investigated curriculum adheres to the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education’s (2018) accreditation standards – it is comprehensive, congruent with the college’s mission and goals, and it shows which skills and knowledge are vital for nursing. Finally, one has to consider whether the objectives of the “Foundations of Professional Nursing Practice” are listed in the appropriate taxonomy. Using Bloom’s taxonomy, it is apparent that the course’s objectives move from knowledge to skills, finishing with attitudes, covering the whole spectrum of main learning objectives (Arievitch, 2020). Thus, the course’s main description and objectives cover the basic information about the expected teaching.
Conclusion
In summary, NSU via CON trains learners to foster teamwork in various disciplines. The congruence between core values, course description, and course objectives facilitates the timing, preparation, and accountability of educational stakeholders. It also connects the concepts of evaluation, learning, and teaching. The mission of NSU and CON align with their commitment to serve the community using innovative means. The two organizations’ philosophy and core values are congruent in terms of integrity, which calls for honesty, ethical morality, and accountability. Meanwhile, the congruence of objectives and description of the course “Foundations of Professional Nursing Practice” is evidenced by the provision of holistic care plans developed through critical thinking using communication skills, nursing skills, integrity, and stewardship.
References
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