Concepts and methods of evaluation in nursing education – a methodological challenge

Aim: The paper explores the concepts and methods of evaluation in nursing education. Rationale: Evaluation of nursing education is a topic received much attention by the scientific community recently. The introduction and the background information of the paper highlight the theoretical endorsement of evaluation, the necessity of evaluation in education and the strenuous effort to find workable methodological approaches for evaluation in education. Method: Literature is reviewed from nursing, education and evaluation disciplines. Benchmarking texts on evaluation and education formed the skeleton of the paper. Systematic review search included scientific databases EBSCO, CINHAL+ and PubMed. Findings: Different evaluation concepts, methods and activities on educational evaluation are explored. Issues of methodological appropriateness in educational evaluation that communicated among scientists and received both appraisal and criticism have been traced and discussed. In particular, quantitativequalitative debate formed the basis of significant arguments and influenced the evolution of new evaluation strategies that encompasses synthesis and triangulation. Conclusion: Methodological challenges in evaluation appear to lead equally in frustration and enlightenment and have benefits for the further advancement of evaluation science.