Background. In 2009, the NMC published new guidelines for pre-registration midwifery education that included an all-graduate profession and grading of practice. It is acknowledged by the profession that the grading of clinical practice may be problematic.
Aim. The pedagogy of grading midwifery practice was explored using a discourse analysis of the documents pertaining to the regulation of pre-registration midwifery education.
Objective. To construct a discourse on grading midwifery practice supported and informed by published interprofessional literature.
Method. The analysis of the data (the text) was examined using a blend of two theoretical positions: Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis and Bernstein’s pedagogic device.
Findings/results. The findings from this discourse analysis were that the pedagogic perspective of grading midwifery practice was limited in several ways. Firstly, the textual analysis/instructional discourse concluded that grading practice was problematic and how much of this grade counted towards the degree classification was unstated. Secondly, the discourse practice/regulative discourse or the ways texts are produced, distributed and consumed and layered one upon the other is not cohesive and therefore the exact regulation as to who grades midwifery practice is not explicit enough within the documentation. Lastly, the social practice/pedagogic device examined the relationship between both the regulatory and instructional discourses thus how, by whom and what contribution this grade makes to the degree classification is open to interpretation, and hence different for each higher educational institution, teacher, sign-off mentor and student.
Recommendations. There is a need to review the current practice of grading and disseminating best practice, the NMC standards to support learning and assessment in practice explicitly for the midwifery profession, and to establish an ongoing dialogue with all parties involved in grading midwifery practice.