Transformative dissonant encounters: Opportunities for cultivating antiracism in White nursing students

Abstract

Sharply in focus in the United States right now is the disproportionate COVID‐19 infection, hospitalization, and mortality rates of Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and Pacific Islanders living in the United States in contrast to White people. These COVID‐19 disparities are but one example of how systemic racism filters into health outcomes for many Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC). With these issues front and center, more attention is being given to the ways that White medical professionals contribute to these disparities, including their socialization to ignore or deny inequities. As such, the present study sought to understand how educating White health‐care pre‐professionals about systemic racism might influence their understanding of and responsibility for disrupting White supremacy. Data were drawn from 49 White‐identified nursing students who participated in a mapping project that uncovered instantiations of systemic racism in the United States. Participant written reflections were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that mapping projects can develop White people's knowledge and understanding of systemic racism. We introduce the construct, transformative dissonant encounters, to describe how this project precipitated shifts in world view necessary for White people to confront systemic racism. Implications for nursing educators, psychological researchers, and antiracist activists are discussed.

Illuminating antiracist pedagogy in nursing education

“…The review of the literature revealed that although many scholars included in the nine results suggested antiracist pedagogy as one approach to addressing whiteness in nursing education (Bell, 2020; Garland & Batty, 2021; Garneau et al, 2018; Iheduru‐Anderson & Wahi, 2022; Koch, 2021; Moffitt & Durnford, 2021; Valderama‐Wallace & Apesoa‐Varano, 2020), very few provided direction about how they have implemented and applied antiracist pedagogy (Altman et al, 2021; Dancis & Coleman, 2021). Some scholars reported that because nurse educators operate from privileged positions, they lack the historical racial literacy required for social justice (Dancis & Coleman, 2021; Valderama‐Wallace & Apesoa‐Varano, 2020). None of the literature provided detailed strategy or examples of implementing antiracist teaching approach.…”

“…Dancis and Coleman (2021) used a mapping project to help white students develop knowledge and understanding of systemic racism. The authors engaged their students in an online project using interactive maps with stories about the sites that provided students with more concrete information and examples about concepts such as gentrification and residential segregation.…”

“…Afterward, the selected articles were narrowed down to articles that discussed the application of antiracist pedagogy in nursing education. Ultimately only nine articles were used (Altman et al, 2021; Bell, 2020; Dancis & Coleman, 2021; Garland & Batty, 2021; Garneau et al, 2018; Iheduru‐Anderson & Wahi, 2022; Koch, 2021; Moffitt & Durnford, 2021; Valderama‐Wallace & Apesoa‐Varano, 2020). The limited literature on antiracist pedagogy in nursing is not surprising.…”

“…They provided examples of how faculty can interrogate their positionality during the design and implementation phases of the cases study for students. Understanding individual positionality would perhaps help address "internalized white supremacist ideology and persistent racial privilege"(Bell, 2020, p. 9) evident in nursing education Dancis and Coleman (2021). used a mapping project to help white students develop knowledge and understanding of systemic racism.The authors engaged their students in an online project using interactive maps with stories about the sites that provided students with more concrete information and examples about concepts such as gentrification and residential segregation.…”

“…The authors noted that the students' self-reported socialized racial ignorance and persistence gap in their understanding of systemic racism require further learning and antiracist actions. The authors argued that experiences such as those portrayed in the study might counteract white students' colorblind and meritocratic socialization(Dancis & Coleman, 2021).Written reflection following educational activities are prevalent methods of evaluating social justice teaching in undergraduate nursing(Elliott & Sandberg, 2021). While written reflections may elicit students' newly acquired knowledge, they do not often translate into measurable changes in attitude and behavior to promote antiracism in practice.3.1.1 | Resistance to antiracist pedagogyDenial of racism in nursing education contributed to the resistance of antiracist pedagogy(Iheduru-Anderson & Wahi, 2020;Waite & Nardi, 2021).…”