Abstract: The study gives an account of curriculum development and innovation in a New Zealand school of nursing and focuses on some aspects of the basic diploma course. The study attempts, through the medium of case study, to illuminate the way in which significant curriculum decisions are made and ideas translated into institutional and technical form. Evidence is derived from the recorded perceptions of the participants, observations, and analyses of documented material. The findings confirm that the field of study is complex, multivariable and dynamic, and that translation of the curriculum on paper involves a multitude of deliberative and factual decisions by practicing teachers