The mandala: first-year undergraduate nursing students' learning experiences

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Psychology
• Transformative Learning

Background:

• The mandala, a symbolic circular art form, is utilized in psychology for accessing subconscious thought.
• Nurse educators have adopted mandala assignments as a strategy to foster self-awareness in students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the lived experiences of first-year undergraduate nursing students undertaking a mandala assignment for emotional learning.
• To understand how mandala assignments contribute to self-awareness and socialization within nursing education.

Main Methods:

• Hermeneutic phenomenology was employed to investigate the experiences of six undergraduate nursing students.
• Students completed a mandala assignment designed for emotional learning.

Main Results:

• Student experiences differed from expectations of simple self-expression, revealing deeper self-discovery.
• Participants reported experiences akin to socialization within nursing education.
• The process facilitated both self-reflection and critical-reflection.

Conclusions:

• Mandala assignments can serve as an integrated transformative learning approach for emotional development in nursing students.
• Findings provide insights for nurse educators on utilizing mandalas for enhancing self-awareness and critical thinking.
• The study highlights the complex nature of student self-discovery through creative assignments in nursing education.