Program evaluation is a common practice in nursing education programs; however, evidence indicates that many schools only focus on program evaluation around the scheduled accreditation period, thus reducing the potential value of the evaluation. This systematic review explores the current program evaluation practices of prelicensure baccalaureate nursing programs. ERIC, CINAHL, and Scopus databases were searched to locate original research articles published in English. Twenty articles met the inclusion criteria. The purposes of the evaluated studies varied from needing to meet external accountability requirements to proposing conceptual frameworks and evaluation tools. However, most studies focused on summative evaluation assessing program products and on providing evidence of program evaluation based on descriptive data. Notably, few studies employed a rigorous method to evaluate and interpret program evaluation findings. Most studies solicited information from multiple stakeholder groups, with students being the most represented. Despite the wide range of data collection tools used in the reviewed studies, reporting of validity and reliability was limited. Student grade point average, graduation rate, NCLEX passing rate, and satisfaction with the learning experience were the most common variables. Further studies are needed to assess the effectiveness of current educational program evaluation practices in nursing education.
Keywords: Baccalaureate nursing programs; Educational program evaluation; Nursing program outcome; Program evaluation; Summative evaluation.
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
MacKinnon K, Marcellus L, Rivers J, Gordon C, Ryan M, Butcher D. MacKinnon K, et al. JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep. 2015 Jan;13(1):14-26. doi: 10.11124/jbisrir-2015-1694. JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep. 2015. PMID: 26447004
Gamroth L, Budgen C, Lougheed M. Gamroth L, et al. Nurs Leadersh (Tor Ont). 2006 Sep;19(3):e1-14. doi: 10.12927/cjnl.2006.19032. Nurs Leadersh (Tor Ont). 2006. PMID: 19830923
Marcellus L, Jantzen D, Humble R, Sawchuck D, Gordon C. Marcellus L, et al. JBI Evid Synth. 2021 Nov 1;19(11):2993-3039. doi: 10.11124/JBIES-20-00462. JBI Evid Synth. 2021. PMID: 34725312 Review.
Sinclair P, Kable A, Levett-Jones T. Sinclair P, et al. JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep. 2015 Jan;13(1):52-64. doi: 10.11124/jbisrir-2015-1919. JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep. 2015. PMID: 26447007
Carter AG, Creedy DK, Sidebotham M. Carter AG, et al. Nurse Educ Today. 2015 Jul;35(7):864-74. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2015.02.023. Epub 2015 Mar 13. Nurse Educ Today. 2015. PMID: 25817987 Review.
Almotairy MM, Innab A, Alqahtani N, Nahari A, Alghamdi R, Moafa H, Alshael D. Almotairy MM, et al. BMJ Open. 2023 Jul 12;13(7):e074469. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074469. BMJ Open. 2023. PMID: 37438057 Free PMC article.
Cassiani SHB, Dias BM, Beltran MPB, Gualdrón LMV, Pérez TR, Aguilar GMV, Loli Ponce RA, Valdivia ARC. Cassiani SHB, et al. Rev Lat Am Enfermagem. 2022 Oct 3;30(spe):e3652. doi: 10.1590/1518-8345.6166.3652. eCollection 2022. Rev Lat Am Enfermagem. 2022. PMID: 36197386 Free PMC article.
Tang LQ, Zhu LJ, Wen LY, Wang AS, Jin YL, Chang WW. Tang LQ, et al. BMJ Open. 2022 Aug 29;12(8):e058224. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058224. BMJ Open. 2022. PMID: 36038168 Free PMC article.