Issues and challenges of curriculum reform to competency‐based curricula in Africa: A meta‐synthesis

Abstract

Although in recent decades reforms to undergraduate nursing and midwifery education have increasingly been guided by the concept of competency-based curriculum in a drive to produce competent graduates in the African context, the topic remains poorly researched in-depth. The related issues and challenges need to be explored in the interest of evidence-based practice. This article stems from a systematic review of qualitative literature on the design and implementation of competency-based curriculum. Data was inductively analyzed using constant comparison. The two categories that emerged were: (i) the need for a paradigm shift to competency-based curriculum; and (ii) the associated issues and challenges, such as a shift from informative to transformative learning, lack or limited of involvement of key stakeholders in curriculum development, focus on hospital-oriented education, lack of preparation of educators, and inappropriate resources. While ongoing reform of nursing and midwifery education continues, much still needs to be done - in particular, extensive financial investment to increase the capacity of educators, mentors and infrastructure, and the development of collaborative frameworks between nursing and midwifery and higher educational councils.

Appropriateness of curriculum content in competence based education training programs of nurses and midwives in Uganda

“…This finding alludes to the fact that many other factors may contribute to inadequate provision of quality health care service delivery, which quite often results into high maternal and infant mortality rate (Ministry of Health, 2007;MoES, 2012). These findings are confirmed by a study done in Uganda on the factors affecting the quality of health care services (Kiguli et al, 2009) which are also consistent with those in other developing countries (Anthopoulou et al, 2017;Botma, 2014;Kadri et al, 2017;Muraraneza et al, 2017). It requires extraordinary efforts on part of stakeholders to address the perceived factors that may interfere with curriculum content implementation, to enable nurses and midwives achieve the desired outcomes.…”

Perceptions of Students from the Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technologies Regarding the Concept of Curriculum

“…Among the reasons for this perception is that the curricula in Turkey continuously change without any effective planning, which leads to undesirable consequences. As a support to this, in other related studies, it was found that change-based structuring studies conducted regarding the structure and implementation of curricula lead to certain problems (Akpınar, Dönder, Yıldırım, & Karahan, 2012;Handal & Herrington, 2003;Kabapınar & Karakurt, 2016;Millar, 2016;Muraraneza, Mtshali & Mukamana, 2017;Öztürk, Yalvaç-Hastürk, & Demir, 2013;Yurdakul, 2015). As mentioned by Memon (1997), a curriculum change is a complex process influenced by curriculum-based, instructional and organizational factors.…”

Nurse managers’ experiences in continuous quality improvement in resource‐poor healthcare settings

“…Attributes of transformational leadership are important tools to achieve improved performance and can be learnt, and such leadership can further be developed through education (Duygulu & Kublay, ). It should be noted that none of the nurse managers in this study had received any formal management or leadership training and would benefit from competency‐based education and training, especially in relation to leading CQI (Solomons & Spross, ; Muraraneza et al ., ).…”