Emancipatory pedagogy in nursing education: a dialectical analysis

Over the past 2 decades there has been a call for a new paradigm in nursing education that will liberate teachers and students from the authoritarian constraints of behaviourist models of nursing education. Different conceptions of emancipatory pedagogy in nursing education have been set forth, resulting in a diverse and fragmented understanding of it. The purpose of this study was to render this diversity of opinion more intelligible by constructing, from the literature, controversies concerning its existence, nature, and worth. The philosophic dialectic method developed by Adler was utilized. Four conceptualizations of emancipatory pedagogy were identified--teaching that functions to: (1) foster critical thinking, (2) construct egalitarian relations of power, (3) increase awareness of systematic gender-based injustices, and (4) transform oppressive social structures within the larger social context of nursing. Common to all is the notion that emancipatory pedagogy functions as a political endeavour to free nurses from oppression. Key points of agreement and disagreement (issue) among authors were identified for each conceptualization, laying the groundwork for future dialogue and debate.