Transforming Nursing Education: Fostering Student Development towards Self-Authorship

Nurse educators share a common goal: To foster student development in ways that fully prepare graduates for the challenges of contemporary practice. As patient acuity continues to escalate the responsibilities of the nurse and the nurse educator have become daunting. Contemporary practice requires a self-authored perspective that allows the nurse to appraise knowledge, weigh evidence, make autonomous decisions, and question authorities when warranted. Nurse leaders have called for transformation in nursing education through the application of evidence-based pedagogies that promote complex thinking and professional formation. This article introduces self-authorship theory and constructive-developmental pedagogy as a framework for enacting the pedagogical reform called for by nursing leaders. Drawing on the Carnegie study recommendations for nursing education reform, the article describes three constructive-developmental principles faculty can incorporate into their current practice to foster student development towards self-authorship and describes the implications of constructive-developmental pedagogy for substantive transformation in nursing education.