The integration of domestic violence issues into the nursing curriculum of Silliman University was a pilot project that was initiated from 1997 to 2000 by the DLSU-SDRC Task Force on Social Science & Reproductive Health (TFSSRH), a small group composed of health professionals and social scientists, a lawyer, and representatives of women’s organizations. This project was undertaken in collaboration with the Association of Deans of Philippine Colleges of Nursing (ADPCN), with funding from The Ford Foundation (TFF) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Eleven student learning modules and teachers’ guides for nine nursing subjects were written by selected Silliman University social science and nursing faculty members in partnership with the TFSSRH. These modules were published and subsequently endorsed by ADPCN in its annual convention in 2000. In June 2002, Silliman University conducted a one-week training for selected nursing schools in the use of the foregoing tools for their respective institutions.
The main objective of this study was to determine the effects of the use of the student learning modules and teachers’ guides on the faculty and students of five nursing schools (two in Luzon, two in the Visayas, and one in Mindanao) that participated in the June 2002 training at Silliman University. Specifically, the study examined the (a) status, strategies and processes adopted by the nursing schools in utilizing the learning tools, (b) the faculty and students’ perceived beneficial effects and difficulties using the foregoing tools, (c) the strategies used by the faculty to overcome their difficulties, (d) indicators used by the nursing schools to assess the competencies of their graduates, and (e) sustainability and prospects of the continued use of the integrated tools in the selected nursing institutions. Key informant interviews with school administrators and focus group discussion with faculty and students were the main methods used in the study.
The findings of the study showed that only Silliman University’s College of Nursing, the pilot institution, completely utilized the student learning modules and teachers’ guides. Two nursing schools partially used some learning tools in selected subjects. The other two schools used them mainly as references. One of these schools had developed its own psychology module that had incorporated domestic violence issues, while the other had shifted to a problem-based learning approach.
