Teaching nursing’s history: A national survey of Australian Schools of Nursing, 2007–2008
Accepted 19 September 2009. published online 16 October 2009. Corrected Proof
Summary
This paper reports on a survey of Australian Schools of Nursing that took place over an 8months period between 2007 and 2008. This study was implemented to extend understanding of effective teaching of nursing history, an area not previously researched in Australia. A critical interpretive method enabled us to problematise the issue, to highlight what was said about the importance of history teaching as well as ad hoc practices and barriers. The study found that participants value history of nursing teaching, but the crowded curriculum is erasing history’s place and potential. It revealed ideological tensions shaping and constraining history of nursing teaching. In Australia, the way nursing’s history is taught varies and teaching content, strategies and resources utilised are not evenly available. Pedagogical innovations are not effectively disseminated. Our recommendations for Australian Schools of Nursing that have more general applicability are: (1) Nursing curriculum needs to be developed from a set of principles and standards that define the attributes of the professional nurse, not in response to interest groups and (2) History of nursing pedagogy should be systematically developed and disseminated through a national virtual centre, linked to international centres, to enhance teachers’ understanding of the discipline area and to support their teaching practice.
aSchool of Health and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Science, Health and Education, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland 4558, Australia
bFaculty of Science, Engineering and Health at Central Queensland University, Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia
cDepartment of History, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
dFlinders University Rural Clinical School, South Australia, Australia
ABSTRACT
months period between 2007 and 2008. This study was implemented to extend understanding of effective teaching of nursing history, an area not previously researched in Australia. A critical interpretive method enabled us to problematise the issue, to highlight what was said about the importance of history teaching as well as ad hoc practices and barriers. The study found that participants value history of nursing teaching, but the crowded curriculum is erasing history’s place and potential. It revealed ideological tensions shaping and constraining history of nursing teaching. In Australia, the way nursing’s history is taught varies and teaching content, strategies and resources utilised are not evenly available. Pedagogical innovations are not effectively disseminated. Our recommendations for Australian Schools of Nursing that have more general applicability are: (1) Nursing curriculum needs to be developed from a set of principles and standards that define the attributes of the professional nurse, not in response to interest groups and (2) History of nursing pedagogy should be systematically developed and disseminated through a national virtual centre, linked to international centres, to enhance teachers’ understanding of the discipline area and to support their teaching practice.