Abstract
This chapter provides a descriptive account of nursing education including how its past has shaped its present and how current times are influencing and delineating its future. Understanding the continuum of development in nursing education promotes an awareness of the diversity that exists within nursing education and the common purposes that bind it together, encourages shared understandings of the various pathways that exist within nursing education, and promotes community among nursing students, nurse educators, and nurses regarding the complexities surrounding educational preparation for nursing practice.