Academisation of nursing education in the Nordic Countries

Abstract

Nursing Science represents a new academic discipline in the Nordic Countries. The article focuses on the academisation of nursing education and the development of nursing to a specific discipline in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The education of nurses has developed within the national framework of each country, but not within a national vacuum. The theoretical framework is based on the sociology of the profession and methodological solutions lean on comparative and content analysis of text documents. This article argues that successful professional projects are not always primarily results of professional groups' struggles. In the case of Nordic nurses the realisation of their academisation project in the 1970s and 1980s has been due to efforts of individual nurses and their associations as well as the guidance of international organisations. However, in the final analysis reforms in the higher education system have made possible the implementation of the academisation project.

Nursing research: A marriage of theoretical influences

“…According to Laiho (), nursing science is clearly a social discipline, motivated to develop itself through the influence of social interests and goals. Nursing research with a sociological approach is crucial in order to consider social factors and issues that prevent, constrain and promote societal health behaviours (Laiho, ). An example is Muangman (), who studied the nature of “emotion work” in the context of care among adult stroke survivors aged 18–59 and their carers, situated in Thailand.…”

Hvordan bør helsesøster=tjenestene organiseres?

“…Samtidig går utdanningen i retning av en akademisering, der teoretisk kunnskap får innpass på bekostning av praktisk laering (11). Det innebaerer at andelen teoretisk kunnskap i metode, vitenskapsteori, kvalitetsutviklingsarbeid og tverrsektorielt og tverrprofesjonelt samarbeid øker.…”

Theory development and application in higher education research: the case of academic drift

“…Neave 1978), other European nations (e.g. The Netherlands: Goedegebuure and Westerheijden 1991, Belgium (Flanders) (Neave 1979, Gellert 1993, Laiho 2010, Maassen et al 2011), Australia (e.g. Harman 1977, Franklin and McCaig 1979, Meek 1991, South Africa (e.g.…”

“…Some of these analyses have focussed on particular disciplines, including, for example, agriculture (Harwood 2005(Harwood , 2010, education (Baker et al 2007), engineering (Christensen and Erno-Kjolhede 2011), information science (De Wit and Verhoeven 2003) and nursing (Laiho 2010), and the professions in general (Smeby 2006). The application of the idea of academic drift has also extended to cover other educational sectors, such as secondary education (e.g.…”