The trend in process-oriented curricula reform began in the mid-1980s and 1990s in response to a call for nursing education to graduate registered nurses that were responsive to a changing society. Many curricula were redesigned from a traditional approach to a process-oriented approach at this time. The purpose of this study is to explore, from a Grounded Theory approach, how instructional strategies are determined within the Canadian classroom setting in a process-oriented curriculum. Interviews were conducted with 17 nurse educators from the Nursing Education Program of Saskatchewan (NEPS). Nurse educators represented courses from all years of the four-year baccalaureate program and all three sites. All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim with data saturation reached after 13 interviews. Strauss and Corbins (1998) Grounded Theory analysis was utilized. Data analysis was assisted with the use of the qualitative data analysis software program Atlas.ti. The understanding of self was an integrating factor in the theory. The theory provides insights into the factors that have determined the types of instructional strategies utilized by full-time faculty within a generic process-oriented curriculum and identifies the support systems these nurse educators feel were or should be in place to assist in their roles. The research has implications for nurse educators, administrators, program planners, and students.

The trend in process-oriented curricula reform began in the mid-1980s and 1990s in response to a call for nursing education to graduate registered nurses that were responsive to a changing society. Many curricula were redesigned from a traditional approach to a process-oriented approach at this time. The purpose of this study is to explore, from a Grounded Theory approach, how instructional strategies are determined within the Canadian classroom setting in a process-oriented curriculum. Interviews were conducted with 17 nurse educators from the Nursing Education Program of Saskatchewan (NEPS). Nurse educators represented courses from all years of the four-year baccalaureate program and all three sites. All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim with data saturation reached after 13 interviews. Strauss and Corbins (1998) Grounded Theory analysis was utilized. Data analysis was assisted with the use of the qualitative data analysis software program Atlas.ti. The understanding of self was an integrating factor in the theory. The theory provides insights into the factors that have determined the types of instructional strategies utilized by full-time faculty within a generic process-oriented curriculum and identifies the support systems these nurse educators feel were or should be in place to assist in their roles. The research has implications for nurse educators, administrators, program planners, and students.