What is a theory-practice gap? An exploration of the concept

Abstract

In nursing literature, the phrase 'theory-practice gap' is widely used without common definition or description of its underlying concept. This review paper presents a concept analysis using Rodgers (2000) evolutionary process to define and clarify the concept of the theory-practice gap as part of a doctoral study. In so doing it provides a deeper understanding of the concept to enable its consistent application within nurse education. A theoretical definition is developed, the data search that was undertaken is described and a discussion of the attributes, antecedents and consequences is provided. We conclude by offering, a model case, which is employed to illustrate the concept.

Whose centre is it anyway? Defining person-centred care in nursing: An integrative review

“…The theory/practice gap includes elements of practice failing to reflect theory, perceptions of theory being irrelevant to practice, and ritualistic nursing practice. Consequences of the theory/practice gap can greatly influence nursing practice and collaboration [40]. In the context of PCC, the theory/practice gap is apparent in the challenge of translating the ideas of PCC into a concrete concept.…”

Anticipated nursing care: findings from a qualitative study

“…The study design was selected according to its capacity to locate the merging findings within the existing anecdotal and sparse empirical knowledge regarding the phenomenon of interest [29]. Therefore, the study was based on a deductiveinductive strategy, in that the 'Anticipated Nursing Care' concept as reported in empirical and anecdotical data [16][17][18][19][20][21]30] was shared with participants, and then elicited data about their experience of the phenomenon. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ [31];) has been followed in reporting the methods and the findings as outlined in Supplementary Table 1.…”

“…There is also evidence of nurses conducting procedures in advance such as preparing medications by leaving them on bedside tables, starting the medication administration before the provisional time [16]. This anecdotal data, which seem to reflect rituals and routines that tend to be repeated over time [17,18], are accompanied also by some empirical evidence. This is the case of leaving a medication at the patient's bedside in advance [19].…”

Considering the concept of recipience in student learning from a modified Bernsteinian perspective

“…in which theoretical and practical knowledges fail to interact in a positive way to contribute to the development of professional knowledgeand hence expertise (Greenway et al, 2019). However, the theoretical knowledge needed to develop expertise can often be structured inappropriately in a curriculum.…”

“…This can be amplified by the unbalanced relationship in the division of power between practitioners and academics, the latter generally enjoying more powerful positions as 'knowing' has been rated more highly than 'doing' (Greenway et al, 2019). If we then develop a linear knowledge structure in the theoretical knowledge quadrant on the semantic plane, we have two linear knowledge structures occupying the two sides of the semantic plane ( Figure 3).…”