Welcome to Nursing EDge Unscripted Saga as we use stories to connect the past to the present and then our future as we reimagine our teaching and learning. As we celebrate the NLN Year of the Nurse Educator, we pay tribute to extraordinary nurses who have made significant contributions to nursing education. We dive into the stories of nurse educators who recognized a need , challenged traditional customs, and influenced transformative change.
Welcome to part two of our discussion about Dr. Peggy Chinn, one of the leaders of the national league for nursing's educational reform effort also referred to as the Curriculum Revolution. Part one discussed a feminist pedagogy in nursing education and how it seeks to highlight the power imbalances ingrained within our educational system and begin to empower those involved.
Part two will build upon these concepts and explore some of the methods associated with feminist pedagogy including how they can be implemented within nursing education.
Feminist pedagogy is an engaged learning environment where all participants are valued equally, allowing for open communication, positive interactions and ultimately personal empowerment According to Dr. Chinn, to fully embrace a feminist pedagogy, teachers must let go of the 'power over' attitudes while students must let go of the 'tell me what to do' attitudes.
So instead of the traditional model of education, where students passively learn through lectures, feminist pedagogy advocates active participation, collaboration, accountability, sharing critical thinking, diversity and connected and relational learning. In this model, the faculty is a participant along with the learner. The teacher guides the learning process by exposing the unequal power relationships that exist within educational settings and acknowledging the
necessity for empowerment in the classroom. In Dr. Chinn's words: In order to accomplish this, various learning activities such as small group discussions, journaling, case studies, and scholarly writing can be employed, yet regardless of what learning activity is implemented, it is important that students are given the opportunity for active involvement in the learning process with the aim of achieving the necessary skills and knowledge required to be a well-prepared nurse.
Over the years following Dr. Chinn's contributions to emancipatory teaching, nurse educators have used feminist pedagogies methods and activities in their classrooms with research showing that its implementation not only increases a student's empowerment within the classroom itself, but in their personal and work environments as well. This concept of empowerment is especially significant for nurses since oppression and power imbalances also exist in the health care setting.
So by increasing a student's personal empowerment in the learning environment, this can extend into nursing practice, positively impacting their ability to influence and enact change as well as to advocate for their patients.
Dr. Chinn and her colleagues indicated during the NLN's Curriculum Revolution that change is not always easy, a concept expertly expressed in the words of Dr. Chinn: And so the Saga continues and may our saga continue as we bring to a close this episode of Nursing EDge Unscripted Saga. Thank you for joining us