From Curriculum to Consciousness: A Justice-Oriented Pedagogical Model in Undergraduate Community-Based Nursing...

Amid global instability and increasing political resistance to diversity and equity initiatives, nursing education faces growing pressure to either uphold or retreat from its ethical commitments. This paper presents a justice-oriented curricular model that responds to these challenges by redesigning a senior-level undergraduate course, Nursing in the Community, through the lens of equity-centered pedagogy. Guided by the LIGHT-Liberatory Learning, Inquiry, Global Awareness, Health Equity, and Transformation-framework, the course was restructured using principles of Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC), critical pedagogy, and community-based experiential learning. A thematic analysis was conducted on 86 student assignments, including reflections, policy briefs, and group community assessments. Findings indicate significant student growth in structural understanding, policy literacy, cultural humility, and clinical reasoning informed by social determinants of health. Students demonstrated the ability to recognize systemic barriers such as racism, poverty, and environmental injustice and to articulate advocacy strategies at both individual and policy levels. This case study provides evidence that justice-driven pedagogies can foster transformative learning and professional identity development while offering nursing educators a replicable model for embedding equity and civic engagement into curricula amid political and systemic constraints.