Pragmatism as a teaching philosophy in the safety sciences: A higher education pedagogy perspective

Pragmatism as a philosophical foundation to integrate education, practice, research and policy across the nursing profession

“…Many nurse educators are familiar with the pragmatic tenets of Dewey; however, there are limited publications that discuss the use of pragmatism in nursing education. There are some studies from other applied sciences touting the benefits of pragmatism in their respective educational programs (Ikiugu & Schultz, 2006; Klockner et al, 2021). Ikiugu and Schultz (2006) explored pragmatism's use in the field of occupational therapy, particularly concerning the concepts of belief, actions and consequences, and suggested the philosophy should be integrated throughout the curriculum.…”

“…Ikiugu and Schultz (2006) explored pragmatism's use in the field of occupational therapy, particularly concerning the concepts of belief, actions and consequences, and suggested the philosophy should be integrated throughout the curriculum. Klockner et al (2021) set out to make a compelling case to adopt pragmatism as a teaching philosophy for safety sciences in Australia. Based on the teachings of Dewey, they urged safety science educators to help students: (1) see themselves as life learners who understand knowledge is constantly in flux, (2) bridge the gap between what is in the book and what they will see in practice, (3) be problem‐solvers through experiences and (4) appreciate a variety of perspectives in an interprofessional world (Klockner et al, 2021).…”

“…Klockner et al (2021) set out to make a compelling case to adopt pragmatism as a teaching philosophy for safety sciences in Australia. Based on the teachings of Dewey, they urged safety science educators to help students: (1) see themselves as life learners who understand knowledge is constantly in flux, (2) bridge the gap between what is in the book and what they will see in practice, (3) be problem-solvers through experiences and (4) appreciate a variety of perspectives in an interprofessional world (Klockner et al, 2021). Although these articles are not based in the profession of nursing, many of their arguments could be made for the application of pragmatism in nursing education.…”

“…Although these two articles rightfully discussed the Deweyan expansions on pragmatism, they fail to apply the basic tenets of Jamesian pragmatism including plurality, truth, fallibilism, subjectivity and meliorism in the context of nursing education. Much like Klockner et al (2021) we can apply these tenets of Jamesian pragmatism to nursing education.…”

Human Healthcare and Its Pharmacy Component from a Safety Point of View

“…Not only are there concerted efforts from healthcare professionals, patients, consumers, regulatory bodies, and politicians, but also there has been an implementation of the processes of providing medical and pharmaceutical care from the point of view of safety science [2]. Safety science is the process of generating knowledge about safety-related phenomena, processes, events, etc., and its conceptual tools, including the development of concepts, theories, principles, and methods to understand, evaluate, communicate information, and manage safety [3].…”