Reference points for the design and delivery of degree programmes in nursing - Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

The convergence of national educational systems within the EU is an important milestone in the global development of modern higher education in the 21st century. The day when the Bologna Declaration was signed (19 June 1999), is considered the official starting point of the harmonization process of higher education systems within Europe, a process whose end aim consists in the creation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Signing the Bologna Declaration has led to a series of reforms in the educational systems of the majority of European countries. For higher education institutions (HEIs) these reforms consist in tuning basic teaching programmes in terms of both the structure and the outcomes of degrees. A prominent role should be given to the graduate and degree profiles so that they meet the needs of both the labour market and society, as well as to the specific tasks an academic community has to solve. Therefore, it is particularly important to express all the various educational levels in terms of competences and learning outcomes.