DOI: 10.1111/nuf.

12270

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The Narrative Circle Model: An interpretative framework

for nursing education and research
Dr. Janet Irene Sweet MacIntyre

University of Prince Edward Island, Faculty of

Nursing, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island,
Canada
Correspondence
Dr. Janet Irene Sweet MacIntyre, Assistant Pro-
fessor, University of Prince Edward Island, Fac-
ulty of Nursing, Charlottetown, Prince Edward
Island, Canada.
Email: jamacintyre@upei.ca
Abstract
Background: A research study entitled “Newly-Graduated Baccalaureate Registered Nurses, the
21st Century Health Care Environment and Mapping the Landscape for Curricular Change”
explored the perceptions of newly graduated registered nurses (NGRNs). During the research pro-
cess, a model for nursing education and research was revealed and subsequently developed as an
interpretative framework.
Purpose: Qualitative narrative inquiry research explored the perceptions of newly graduated reg-
istered nurses and shaped the creation of the Narrative Circle Model for Nursing Education and
Research (NCMNER). This paper will explain how the model represents the cyclic yet reciprocal
relationship among education, research, and practice using narratives.

Description: The NCMNER provides a unique perspective by illustrating knowledge gained from
narratives of NGRNs using narrative inquiry research methodology to influence nursing educa-
tion and practice. Ultimately, the model will illustrate the significant implications of education and
research in advancing the future of nursing with educational, social, and political change.

Conclusion: Concepts from the NCMNER provided an interpretative framework for the major
findings of the research; specifically, narratives used in educational curriculum, narratives from
research methodology, and hence the relationships between narratives in education and research.

KEYWORDS
narrative inquiry, nursing education, nursing model, nursing research

The purpose of this paper is to explain how qualitative narrative 1 BACKGROUND

inquiry research explored the perceptions of newly graduated reg-
istered nurses (NGRNs) and shaped the creation of the Narrative
Circle Model for Nursing Education and Research (NCMNER). The
relationship between the narratives used by nursing educators
delivering educational curriculum and the narratives obtained from
NGRNs using narrative inquiry research methodology is illustrated.
The process involves moving toward social change with the desire to
improve education and practice for NGRNs. The relationship among
the narratives in educational curriculum, the narratives gained with
narrative inquiry methodology, and the research findings from a
research study are espoused. The researcher positioned within the
NCMNER (Figure 1) asked research questions about education and
practice for NGRNs and utilized narrative inquiry methodology to
advance the research process and disseminate results. Narratives
are essential in educational curriculum1,2 ; therefore, the reciprocal is
equally significant. Narrative inquiry is important and appropriate for
the researcher who questions NGRNs about their perspectives and
experience with nursing curriculum.
Nursing theorist Patricia Benner3 emphasized the value of experience
in education and the transfer of theory to practice. Experience in clin-
ical settings must be integrated to successfully practice nursing. Ben-
ner's publication of From Novice to Expert: Excellence and Power in Clinical
Nursing Practice has been an integral part of nursing education since it
was first written in 1984. Benner et al.4 successfully articulated areas
of concern in both the profession of nursing and in the field of nursing
education in the United States. As the director of the Carnegie Foun-
dation for the Advancement of Teaching, Dr. Benner was at the fore-
front of a National Education Study, which was the first of its kind since
Lysaught's 1970 national study on nursing education. Visionary insight
throughout the book leads readers on a journey exploring ways to meet
nursing challenges of the 21st century. Doing, knowing, and being are
terms aptly described by Benner as nurses enact their knowledge and
are able to transform, perceive, and act in a given situation. A described
sense of salience and skilled know-how is developed as nurses become
attuned to each clinical situation. A statement made by a faculty

Nurs Forum. 2018;1–5. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/nuf 

c 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 1
2 MACINTYRE
FIGURE 1 Narrative Circle Model for Nursing Education and
Research. Researcher guided Narrative Inquiry is at the center of the
Narrative Circle navigating and directing the narratives of lived expe-
riences. Reciprocity exists between the narratives from educators in
educational curriculum and the narratives of NGRNs from the research
methodology
member, interviewed by Benner, resonates strong, “Yes, high-level
skills are very important but skills are a very small part of what nurses
do” (p. 179).4
John Dewey, the most important educational theorist of the
20th century and probably the most influential of all American
philosophers claimed that everything depends on the quality of the
educational experience, and hence, every experience lives on in future
experiences.2 Dewey's focus and the value he placed on experiential
learning naturally align with a personal philosophy of teaching and
learning. His claim that everything depends on the quality of the expe-
rience lived; therefore, every experience lives on in future experiences
is referenced by numerous scholars of education, including Benner
(1984) and Duchsner.5 The relationship of Dewey's philosophies to
the profession and practice of nursing education is clearly evident in
the writings of nursing theorist Patricia Benner who emphasizes the
value of experience in education and the transfer of theory to practice.
Experience in clinical settings must be integrated to successfully
practice nursing. A notable quote from Dewey6 warned if we teach
today's students as we taught yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow.
Benner's nursing theory reiterates Dewey's education theory as
the Benner4 and Dewey2 theories provide applicable background
knowledge, which aided in the analysis of the narratives. Several
decades of foundational theories such as Dewey and Benner's, have
shaped theoretical and methodological perspectives in research
development.
Nursing educators have a responsibility to respond to the chang-
ing trends and issues revealed in current research literature describ-
ing healthcare environments. Engaging in narrative inquiry with
NGRNs was the method chosen for advancing the research and con-
ducting interviews with NGRNs. Their experiences were disclosed
to the researcher, as a co-participant in the research. Lindsay7
describes narrative inquiry where researchers are autobiographically
and temporally in the situation being studied, in relationships with
co-participants. Narrative serves as a medium for “getting inside” com-
plex health care and social care relationships.8 Narrative inquiry was
an appropriate and efficient way of addressing the research ques-
tions aimed at improving nursing curriculum to better prepare student
nurses for the 21st century health care environment.
2 NARRATIVE CIRCLE MODEL AS AN
INTERPRETIVE FRAMEWORK
The NCMNER provides a holistic perspective by illustrating the knowl-
edge gained from the narratives of NGRNs with narrative inquiry
methodology. The research results will inform nursing educators, nurs-
ing educational curriculum, and the future of nursing education as a
result. Convictions from the NCMNER organized the major findings
from the research and profiled the theory, research, methods, method-
ology, and research findings.
2.1 Narratives in educational curriculum
Within the NCMNER, narrative inquiry as a research method pro-
vides for and informs nursing educators with the phenomena, out-
comes, and products of the research. Nursing educators, informed by
the evidence-based research provided in the narratives told and retold
of lived experiences by NGRNs, will have the capacity to influence edu-
cational curriculum and the future of nursing education. Reflective and
reminiscent, the legendary “Life is education” quote from John Dewey2
is the foundation of the NCMNER where life, lived experience, and life
stories make significant contributions to education. Storying as a way
of knowing is appealing to nurse educators grounded in Carper's fun-
damental patterns of knowing,9 which include empirical, ethical, aes-
thetic, and personal methods. Whereas, empirical knowledge gained
through systematic investigation has earned the spotlight in recent
years, the personal way of knowing is no less essential to good nursing
practice. Narratives can help develop knowledge and respect for the
diverse roles that nurses adopt.10
Narratives are essential in educational curriculum and as the NCM-
NER illustrates, narratives are equally significant in nursing research.
Since narrative serves as a medium for “getting inside” complex
health care and social care relationships, the NCMNER was created
to illustrate the reciprocity that exists between the narratives from
educators in educational curriculum and the narratives of NGRNs from
the research methodology. In the classroom, case studies and stories
of lived experience are examples used to inform and prepare students
with educational curriculum. The narrative lived clinical experience,
which is retold and related to curriculum content, is essential for
nursing educators as they inspire students with personal stories from
clinical experiences. Educators using storytelling pedagogy as curricu-
lum, which was generated from narrative inquiry research, educate
future nurses. Hence, the cyclic reciprocal process demonstrated
in the NCMNER is representative of the education and research
process.
MACINTYRE
2.2 Narratives from research methodology
Through living, telling, and retelling their stories, NGRNs and the
researcher begin to think narratively about their phenomena – a
narrative view extended over time, shaped by personal and social con-
ditions, and situated, correspondingly, in a multiplicity of places.11,12
With the researcher at the center of the NCMNER, the strong part-
nership between the researcher and participants in the research is
clearly illustrated in the NCMNER. Connelly and Clandinin13 explain
that we cannot detach ourselves from the participant–researcher
relationship. As a co-participant in the research where the deep, rich
narratives were freely exchanged, the participant's lived experience
narratives were the focus of the research. When the researcher and
participants met on two separate occasions, the living, telling, and
retelling of the stories provoked narrative thinking about the emerging
phenomena. The NGRNs personal narratives told and retold, often
with strong emotion, affirmed the phenomena emerging from their
lived experiences. NGRNs were confident and eager to inform the
researcher of strategies to enhance educational curriculum. As nursing
educators utilize the results of narrative inquiry research, they are
transforming educational curriculum in response to methodology,
methods, and research findings of the research study.
2.3 Description of the model
The NCMNER exposes the relationship that exists between narra-
tives used by nursing educators delivering educational curriculum
and narratives obtained from NGRNs using narrative inquiry research
methodology. The process described in the NCMNER involves ulti-
mately moving toward social change with the desire to improve edu-
cation and practice for NGRNs. The relationship among the narratives
in educational curriculum, the narratives gained with narrative inquiry
methodology, and the research findings from a research study are
espoused. The researcher positioned within the NCMNER (Figure 1)
asked NGRNs research questions about education and practice and
utilized narrative inquiry methodology to advance the research pro-
cess and disseminate results. The research study questioned NGRNs
specifically about their perceptions of the educational curriculum they
received, their perceptions about how well they were prepared for
clinical practice, and about strategies to improve nursing educational
curriculum.
To further explain the model, the first block of the NCMNER begins
at the top of the circle with Nurse Educator/Curriculum and delivery
of curriculum to nursing students, curriculum that has been informed
by nursing research. Continuing clockwise, to the right of the circle,
the second block of the NCMNER shows the nurse educator including
Narratives as Pedagogy. While delivering nursing curriculum, the nurse
educator includes examples from clinical practice. Case studies, sto-
ries, and lived experience are examples of educational pedagogy used
to inform and prepare NGRNs for nursing practice. The circle contin-
ues and equally important are the narratives from the experiences of
NGRNs, former students who were participants in the research study.
The narratives obtained by the researcher from NGRNs using narrative
3
inquiry methodology are illustrated in the third block, at the bottom of
the circle, NGRN/Practice Experience.
The block on the left side of the circle, Practice Experi-
ence/Education, illustrates the impact of the research findings,
obtained from NGRNs in clinical practice, which will inform nurse
educators as they strive to improve nursing education curriculum.
The process is cyclic, iterative, and reciprocal. The researcher plays
a pivotal role in the center of the NCMNER navigating and directing
the research data and results. The double-sided arrows in the circle
illustrate the flow of knowledge from education to NGRNs with narra-
tives in teaching pedagogy and continue to illustrate NGRNs providing
narrative data for the researcher using narrative inquiry methodology
research. The rich narratives from the experiences of NGRNs gained
with narrative inquiry research inform nursing educational curriculum.
The lived clinical experience, which is retold in curriculum content, is
extremely valuable for NGRNs. Narratives are essential for nursing
educators as they inspire students and incorporate their stories of
personal clinical experiences in educational curriculum. The research
explored the concerns voiced by NGRNs, to improve the educational
curriculum for NGRNs, and to inform administrators and policy makers
of the concerns of NGRNs. As illustrated in the NCMNER, narratives
are valued in both educational curriculum and in narrative inquiry
methodology.
2.4 The Narrative Circle Model for Nursing
Education and Research
The relationship that exists between the researcher, participants, and
educator is a reciprocal process symbolized in the NCMNER where
mutual respect and understanding exists. Although the researcher
is placed at the center of the circle, the power and significance in
each discipline of research and education are mutually respected.
The researcher is the catalyst at the center of the Narrative Cir-
cle navigating and challenging the narratives of lived experiences.
Reciprocity exists between the narratives from educators used in
educational curriculum and the narratives from NGRNs from the
research methodology.
The participants, researcher, places, and events are involved in a
process, always in transition where events and people always have a
past, present, and future.12 The cyclic representation with arrows in
the NCMNER also illustrates the continuous, iterative process that is
necessary for ongoing research to inform education and practice. The
research findings from the study pose many new questions for future
researchers.
The research methodology of critical social theory and narrative
inquiry guided the research and examined the social challenges experi-
enced by NGRNs in the 21st century health care environment. Impor-
tant to reiterate are the deep, rich narratives which were told, re-told,
reconstructed, and relived14 addressed an interesting population and
understudied phenomena where educational curriculum encompasses
the participant's life experience. The knowledge and understanding
obtained from the research methodology of critical social theory and
narrative inquiry will contribute to the process of social change and the
4 MACINTYRE
aim of the research to improve the education of NGRNs and also help
transform their practice environment.
3 IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION,
RESEARCH, AND PRACTICE
Bloom's Taxonomy, with its popularity in educational curriculum, sup-
ports the understanding of the levels of learning required of student
nurses and NGRNs. The six cognitive levels underscore the meaning
behind the statement described by Benner4 where high-level skills
are very important but skills are a very small part of what nurses
do. NGRNs require teaching and learning where they successfully
progress through all six levels of cognition from knowledge, compre-
hension, and application to analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The lev-
els have often been depicted as a stairway, leading teachers to encour-
age their students to climb to a higher level of thought.15 The work
of influential theorists has contributed to growth, insight, and the cre-
ation of the NCMNER thereby advancing the direction of education
and research toward social change.
NGRNs provided clear, unanimous recommendations that will have
implications for nursing faculty as they change and improve nursing
educational curriculum. The findings of the research have and will
contribute to and assist in the development of educational curricu-
lar changes. The NCMNER will serve as a visual illustration of the
implications for education and the close cyclic, reciprocal relationship
between education and research. The reciprocal narratives acquired
from narrative inquiry research have the capacity and must be used
to improve education, research, and practice. The NCMNER succinctly
illustrates the importance of this relationship with the double-sided
arrows within the circle itself. Educational curriculum can be improved
with new narratives to address the disparities identified by NGRNs.
The implications for clinical practice are significant and a major goal
of the research. The cyclic, reciprocal relationship is clearly evident as
the narratives from the experiences of NGRNs inform the researcher
who informs nursing educators who inform educational curriculum
that informs future NGRNs who will inform and ultimately change the
practice setting. The direction of knowledge flows from education to
practice and from practice to education. Moreover, scholars in nurs-
ing education continue to influence and inform administrators and
policy makers with evidence-based research, thereby advancing the
direction of education and research toward social change. Narrative
inquiry revealed areas of concern and recommended future research
involving education and practice with new research questions: What
are the major challenges confronting NGRNs practicing nursing on
medical-surgical nursing units in other geographical locations of North
America? Are the challenges facing NGRNs the same in other jurisdic-
tions? How many registered nurses continue to practice on the same
medical–surgical nursing unit 2, 3, and 5 years after graduation? Is this
number the same or different from other nursing units? If the number is
different when compared to other nursing units, why and how is it dif-
ferent? What strategies would improve nursing retention on medical–
surgical nursing units? Answers to these questions will provide further
insight into the challenges facing NGRNs with implications for both
nursing scholars who influence nursing curriculum; and administrators
and policy makers who influence nursing practice. Consequently, the
research visually presented in the NCMNER is creating social change
for the profession of nursing.
4 CONCLUSION
The NCMNER model was developed to reveal the important relation-
ship that exists between narratives used by nursing educators deliver-
ing educational curriculum and narratives obtained from NGRNs using
narrative inquiry research methodology. The model represents the
cyclic yet reciprocal relationship among education, research, and prac-
tice using narratives. The process described in the NCMNER involves
ultimately moving toward social change with the desire to improve
education and practice for NGRNs. The relationship among the nar-
ratives in educational curriculum, the narratives gained with narrative
inquiry methodology, and the findings from a research study provide
a unique perspective illustrating knowledge that flows from education
to practice and from practice to education.
The research data collected from NGRNs with narrative inquiry
has informed and will continue to inform educational curriculum as
it is disseminated. Informed curriculum from the research will subse-
quently influence and change the practice setting. The researcher plays
a pivotal role at the center of the NCMNER navigating, directing, and
disseminating knowledge from the narratives of lived experiences. As
illustrated in the NCMNER, narrative inquiry research methodology
was both fundamental and appropriate for the researcher who ques-
tioned NGRNs about their perspectives and experience with nursing
educational curriculum.
ORCID
Dr. Janet Irene Sweet MacIntyre
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3314-8939
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