Social representations held by teachers and students of the curriculum of a nursing program

Abstract

Representations are influenced by environmental stimuli and are shaped as a type of social learning that gives meaning to a group’s conceptions and actions. Additionally, knowledge is formed and opinions are identified that lead people to act either positively or negatively. The research study aimed to describe social representations held by students and teachers of the nursing program curriculum at Universidad Santiago de Cali (Palmira site), during the second semester of 2019. A qualitative research approach was used, within the hermeneutic paradigm with a case study method. The population was composed of students (from third to tenth semester) and teachers (from the basic courses) from the nursing program of a private university in Palmira (Valle). The findings showed that more than 95% of students knew the curriculum of the program, were interested in the subject matter courses and considered some courses (such as virtual courses) not very relevant for their training. The analysis concluded that the curriculum is in line with the training in the basic subject matter courses of nursing, also that other components could be added in the curriculum to address some social needs.

Keywords

• education
• higher education
• social representations
• curriculum
• university of santiago de cali