Curriculum development is an issue of continuing concern to nurse educators. For the planning model to be effective, it must be compatible with, and actually facilitate, the implementation of the particular programme or practice that is to be used. In nursing, the process of curriculum construction is predominantly influenced by the linear approach. This planning model which has taken over nursing education at all levels and in all content areas seems neutral, but it is not. It carries with it a particular value position on human nature. This paper examines the value position of the linear model and its limitation, and proposes a multi‐dimensional model as a possible alternativ