Article Sidebar
Published:
Nov 12, 2019Article Details
Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].
Material submitted for publication in the AJHPE is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The AJHPE does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors. The corresponding author should also indicate if the research forms part of a postgraduate short report, dissertation or thesis.
Previously published images
If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.Main Article Content
A framework for implementing and sustaining a curricular innovation in a higher education midwifery programme
Abstract
Background. A competency-based curriculum was adopted for a 1-year post-basic midwifery programme in a small African country with a high maternal and neonatal mortality ratio. Two years after nation-wide implementation, disparities in the enactment of the curriculum were observed within and across the nursing education institutions (NEIs). Such disparities were attributed to lack of a framework in implementing the new curriculum, which jeopardised sustainability of the entire competency-based midwifery programme. A framework for implementing and sustaining a curricular innovation in a higher education midwifery programme was developed.
Objective. To develop and validate a framework for implementing and sustaining a curricular innovation in a higher education midwifery programme.
Methods. A multiple-methods research design was used to develop the framework, guided by the theory-of-change logic model. This design was executed in three sequential but interrelated phases, inclusive of an integrative review, a gap analysis of the implementation of the programme and a frameworkdevelopment process. Primary implementers from all NEIs in the setting validated the developed framework through discussion and consensus.
Results. A framework for implementing and sustaining a curricular innovation in a midwifery programme was developed. It reflects an integration of evidence obtained from research and expertise from primary implementers of the curriculum.
Conclusions. Designing a strategy for higher education institutions (HEIs) for implementing and sustaining curricular innovations should be based on an interplay of empirical evidence and contextual realities. HEIs should identify challenges related to curriculum implementation, and recommend tailor-made approaches that are based on evidence. Primary implementers of the curriculum are fundamental in enhancing the validity and feasibility of such a strategy within their setting.
