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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing Education 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
98963  Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing Education 
ORIGINATOR
University of the Free State 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Postgraduate Diploma  Field 09 - Health Sciences and Social Services  Promotive Health and Developmental Services 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  120  Not Applicable  NQF Level 08  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Reregistered  EXCO 0640/26  2023-06-30  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification. 

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
Purpose:
The purpose of this qualification is to enable learners to demonstrate knowledge of and engagement with nursing education as a specialty. It will enable the Nurse Educator to undertake advanced reflection and development by means of a systematic survey of current thinking, practice and research methods in their field or discipline.

The qualification aims to provide working nursing professionals with the opportunity to actively acquire the ability to interrogate multiple sources of knowledge and develop specialised skills to act as lecturer, clinical educator, education manager and researcher in work places such as universities, colleges and health establishments. This qualification will enable learners to be engaged theoretically and to apply knowledge to a range of nursing education contexts in the workplace. The learner will also be able to use insight to critically review educational material of leading and current nursing education research.

The qualifying learner will be able to:
  • Facilitate learning to promote the learner's ability to make sound clinical judgment and demonstrate meta-cognition.
  • Develop a leadership style and manage self in the attainment of professional development goals.
  • Apply scholarly educational best practice principles in an area of nursing specialisation based on a critical review of current research.

    Rationale:
    The Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) (Nursing Education) addresses the immediate need for professional development and to capacitate learners in the field of Nursing Education. The qualification is designed to develop nurses who will be able to function as specialists with expert intellectual and practical competencies in the nursing education environment. Qualifying learners will be able to perform effectively in higher education teaching settings.

    This qualification will enable the learner to be a clinically focused, service-orientated; autonomous, innovative Nursing Education Specialist who is able to render comprehensive, scientific nursing education. The success of the implementation of new educational qualifications in nursing is to ensure the availability of sufficient suitably qualified nurse educators both in colleges and universities. To train nurse educators in terms of a suitable qualification has become a national priority.

    The PGDip (Nursing Education) will enhance the quality and the outcomes of a most crucial component of the nursing profession in South Africa, i.e. education. The South African Nursing Council (SANC), as a professional body, published competencies for nurse educators to enable quality training (SANC 2014). Upon successful completion of the qualification, learners will meet the teaching requirements of the Nursing Act (No. 33 of 2005), South African Nursing Council (SANC) and Council on Higher Education (CHE) and can play a vital role in the South Africa Nursing Education Institutions.

    A nurse specialist can enrol as a learner in this qualification and become a nursing educator who can operate in the various fields of nursing and in a range of available nursing education institutions. A Nurse educator can work as lecturer, clinical educator, education manager, researcher, and specialist. 
    		•

    LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
    Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
    Recognition will be granted irrespective of the context of the learning experience, provided that the prior learning can be assessed and that credits may be awarded on the basis of that assessment in order to permit entry to a qualification. The RPL process is as follows:
    a) The previous learning and experience of an applicant will be compared with the Exit Level Outcomes required for a specified qualification.
    b) Any prior learning that meets the requirements in respect of a qualification will be accepted.

    RPL will be used to recognise what a person has already learnt from:
  • Formal, accredited, certified learning.
  • Non-formal learning (work experience in a company or industry, or with experts in the field).
  • Informal learning (life experience, e.g. community work or hobbies).

    The recognition of prior learning will be applicable to prospective and learners seeking:
  • Entry to a qualification;
  • Exemption from the requirements of a qualification;
  • Advanced placement in a qualification;
  • Credit transfer;
  • Credit recognition towards a qualification; and/or
  • To be deemed competent to be awarded a qualification in its entirety.

    Entry Requirements:
    Learners are required to have one of the following qualifications in order to be considered for admission:
  • Bachelor's Degree, Level 7 in the relevant field.
    Or
  • Advanced Diploma, Level 7 in the relevant field. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    The qualification comprises compulsory modules at NQF Level 8, totalling 120 credits.

    Modules at NQF Level 8, 120 Credits:
  • Teaching and Learning, 32 Credits.
  • Assessment of Learning, 32 Credits.
  • Leadership and Personal Development, 16 Credits.
  • Academic and Student Management, 16 Credits.
  • Programme Development, 16 Credits.
  • Research in Nursing Education, 8 Credits. 
    		•

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    1. Facilitate learning to promote the learner's ability to make sound clinical judgment and demonstrate meta-cognition.
    2. Develop a leadership style and manage self in the attainment of professional development goals.
    3. Apply scholarly educational best practice principles in an area of nursing specialisation based on a critical review of current research. 

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
  • A plan for a learning facilitation session that promotes the clinical judgment and meta-cognition process in nursing learners is designed and executed.
  • An integrated assessment plan that is aligned with the learning facilitation session plan is designed and implemented.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:
  • Own leadership style is developed through the process of managing own professional development goals.
  • Management of an educational programme is evaluated based on the roles and responsibilities of the educator within an educational system.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:
  • Original scholarship that enhances nursing and/or nursing education is conducted and communicated.
  • Compliance of a nursing programme to the national and institutional educational and professional standards is reported on.
  • Scholarly educational best practice principles are applied in a nursing specialisation based on a review of current research and research methods.

    Integrated Assessment:
    Assessment will take place within the context of the quality assurance policies, procedures and processes of the institution in a guided and supported learning environment. Baseline assessment will be done during contact sessions by means of introductory questions to determine prior knowledge of learners. Summative questions will be used to determine if difficult concepts and information were successfully mastered. Group participation, organisational skills, leadership, cooperation, initiative and creativity of individual students will be assessed within groups activities.

    Formative assessment will be done by means of assignments on specific topics during contact sessions to form and support learning. The assignments will be assessed by the learning facilitator, self, and peers.

    Summative assessment (to assess skills, knowledge and attitudes at the end of a particular learning period) includes authentic assessment (context close to real life situations) and integrated assessment (to achieve applied competence). A combination of different assessment methods will allow for testing a wide variety of outcomes.

    All modules will use continuous assessment activities which will accumulate into a general portfolio. Two of the modules will include a written examination. Continuous assessment will be applied in other four modules. The general portfolio for the qualification will be compiled and can be used for job applications. The WIL component, integrated in all six modules, will be properly supervised and assessed. Learners will be assessed by means of projects and tasks aligned with criteria related to the expected learning outcomes.

    Since there is a strong focus on technological skills as well as the use of a learner management system such as Black Board, learners will be required to show such competence in their practical workbook as proof of achievement. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    The University at NUI Galway in Ireland United Kingdom (UK) offers a Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing (Teaching). The qualification is aimed at preparing learners who wish to gain a teaching qualification. Learners are expected to gain expertise in a wide range of teaching methods including lecturing, clinical teaching in both laboratory and clinical settings, and working with small groups using experimental approaches.

    The National League for Nursing (NLN) in Washington United States of America (USA) offers Nursing Education that recognises that research is fundamental to quality, timely, nursing education based on scientific inquiry. It is the only national nursing organisation funding nursing education research. The NLN - Chamberlain College of Nursing Centre for the Advancement of the Science of Nursing Education promotes evidence-based nursing education and the scholarship of teaching. It brings a positive change to nursing education research for all sectors of the profession. Nurse educators are responsible for creating an environment in classroom, laboratory, and clinical settings that facilitates learning and the achievement of desired cognitive, affective, and psychomotor outcomes. Nurse educators who will be able to use a variety of strategies to assess and evaluate learning in classroom, laboratory and clinical settings, as well as in all domains of learning. Nurse educators will recognise their responsibility for helping learners to develop as nurses and integrate the values and behaviours expected of those who fulfil that role.

    Conclusion:
    In terms of the rationale andpurpose, the Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing Education (PGDip (Nursing Education) is similar to the qualifications offered in the United Kingdom and United States of America. 

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    This qualification only offers a specific horizontal articulation opportunity with the following qualification offered by the University of Free State.

    Horizontal Articulation:
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Community Health, (ID 96624), Level 8.

    This qualification offers the following systemic articulation possibilities provided the learner meets the minimum entry requirements:

    Horizontal Articulation:
  • Bachelor of Nursing Honours: Advanced Practice, Level 8.
  • Bachelor of Nursing Honours, Level 8.

    Vertical Articulation:
  • Master of Nursing Science, Level 9.
  • Master of Nursing Science in Nursing Education, Level 9. 
    		•

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    N/A 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A 

    NOTES 
    N/A 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. University of the Free State 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.