Abstract
The Norwegian Department of Education requested in 1992 a revision of all curricula within the area of higher education in the field of health- and social sciences in Norway (with the exception of the universities). This has resulted in an amendment which preliminary is far from what many nurse lectures appraise as professional improvements. The aim of this article is therefore to focus on a professional structure for organizing the curriculum of the nursing basic education to enlighten our professional substance. Based upon a historical review, a brief reasoning is given to emphasize the need for a professional structure within the curriculum framework. According to Reisby (1), the professional structure can be divided into two different directions; namely the substantial and the syntactical structure. The substantial structure refers to the substance itself, as the syntactical structure refers to the processes or methods. The substance of the generic program in nursing is, in this presentation, structured into knowledge areas, suggested by Kim(2) as basic terminology, expressed as central “domains” in nursing. Further, the syntactical structure, which is connected to the students' learning processes and practical studies, is being integrated into the theoretical knowledge areas mentioned above, in searching for a more professional curriculum structure.
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