Kirkpatrick’s Model in Nursing Education: A Critical Evaluation of Benefits and Drawbacks

Abstract

Background: Kirkpatrick model is one of models used in higher education evaluation. However, there is limited evidence on usage of this model in nursing education.

Aim &Methodology: This study was conducted as a systematic literature review aimed at critically synthesizing evidence regarding the application of the Kirkpatrick Model for evaluating nursing education programs. A comprehensive search guided data screening process was utilized in the current review, including four sources (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases) for studies between 2018 and 2025. Keywords used included were Kirkpatrick model, nursing educational programs, formative and summative evaluation methods. Initially, a total of 179 articles were reviewed, 51 full text were checked. Then, thirty-one articles met the desired eligibility criteria.

Results: Through literature, Kirkpatrick model has been recognized for its conceptual clarity and practical applicability. Most of studied articles (58.1%; n=18) reported that this model guarantees that educational initiatives are synchronized with learning goals and result in significant changes in behavior within clinical settings. Conversely, (41.9%; n=13) of articles documented several drawbacks for utilizing Kirkpatrick model for assessing nursing programs. They reported that many of the utilized tools for measuring behavioral and result-oriented constructs exhibit limited psychometric validation, casting doubt on the methodological soundness of the studies employing them

Conclusion: It is concluded that the Kirkpatrick application framework by far continues to be wielded as one of the most popular models to evaluate nursing educational programs because of its concept clarity and structure, multi-level assessment each level leading upward to behaviors.