“Social justice is a dream”: Tensions and contradictions in nursing education

Abstract

Objective The purpose of this study was to explore nurse educators’ conceptualizations of social justice in theory courses. The findings contextualize the role of nurse educators in promoting social justice among future health care providers and the relevance of their perspectives on social justice. Design This descriptive qualitative study was completed utilizing constructivist grounded theory methods. Sample and Measurements I interviewed 28 nurse educators teaching theory courses in Baccalaureate nursing programs on the West coast of the United States. Initial and focused codes were constructed from interview transcripts to understand and contextualize statements about social justice. Results Participants’ conceptualizations of social justice include equity, equality, self‐awareness, withholding judgment, and taking action. Conclusions Notable differences emerged along racial lines and, less so, in relation to educational background and nursing specialty. This study highlights areas of concern with respect to how nurse educators enact the claim that social justice is a core professional nursing value. The findings call attention to tensions and contradictions as individuals navigate the landscape of nursing with limited structural and institutional effort.

‘The Problem of the Color Line’: Faculty approaches to teaching Social Justice in Baccalaureate Nursing Programs

“…Conceptualizing social justice as awareness does not necessarily constitute social justice teaching but can be viewed as a step in that direction, similar to critical consciousness. Faculty pedagogical approaches and conceptualizations can be situated within various contexts, including upbringing and formative experiences, educational paths, and layers of prevailing institutional priorities and structures (Valderama‐Wallace & Apesoa‐Varano, 2019a, 2019b). This model conveys the system that upholds whiteness and the blueprint for change.…”

“…How might we understand the relationship between nursing education and society? Nursing institutions state that social justice is a core professional value, despite inconsistent conceptualizations across American Nurses Association documents (Valderama‐Wallace, 2017) and among nurse educators (Valderama‐Wallace & Apesoa‐Varano, 2019a). The prevailing emphasis on individualism and egalitarianism embodies whiteness and colonialism, decontextualizing health and preventing examination of root causes of health inequities.…”

“…Previous articles described nurse educators' conceptualizations of social justice (Valderama‐Wallace & Apesoa‐Varano, 2019a) and the various influences that shape whether and how they teach social justice (Valderama‐Wallace & Apesoa‐Varano, 2019b). The purpose of this manuscript is to critically examine strategies educators in Baccalaureate programs utilize to teach social justice in their non‐practicum courses.…”

Global Health in Swedish Nursing Curricula: Navigating the Desirable and the Necessary

“…Some studies have been made on race and ethnic background among nurse educators [77,78], but we were unable to find research on nurse educators' prior education with respect to sustainability studies, environmental determinants of health, personal experience of living in communities exposed to environmental hazards or prior experience working with environmental justice. We were also unable to find Swedish studies or national evaluations concerning race and ethnic background of nurse educators, their competence with respect to environmental and sustainability issues, if these aspects are considered in recruitment, or the role nurse educator background (see Valderama-Wallace and Apesoa-Varano [64,66,67]) plays in teaching global health.…”

“…Our concern is that being able to take actions should follow an interpretation based on something other than personal values and backgrounds (cf. Valderama-Wallace and Apesoa-Varano, [66,67]), also with the risk that GH content becomes 'fluid' and related to partial issues, while not being related to any social context, understanding and explanations. In our data, we found that GH, as expressed in the course syllabi, are not understood, discussed or interpreted underpinned by any explicit theoretical approach.…”