Centring Social Justice in Nursing Educational Resources: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Open Educational Resources (OER)
• Social Justice in Education

Background:

• Open Educational Resources (OER) offer potential to counteract exclusion in nursing education.
• Social justice principles are inherent in OER development.
• Existing nursing texts may perpetuate marginalizing processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how leadership teams can integrate equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) into nursing OER design and production.
• To identify best practices for creating inclusive nursing educational materials.

Main Methods:

• The study employed an interpretive descriptive methodology.
• Focus groups with nine leaders (nurse educators, educational developers, students) were conducted.
• Reflexive and critical dialogue with data, informed by the concept of 'Othering', was used.

Main Results:

• Three key themes emerged: diversifying design and production, centering social justice, and nuancing inclusion.
• Diverse voices and teams focused on social justice are crucial for OER development.
• Participants highlighted the need for rich, vibrant, and diverse contributions.

Conclusions:

• A blueprint for EDI-informed OER must prioritize diverse teams and social justice.
• This approach creates space for human difference and learner flourishing.
• While perfect inclusion may be unattainable, diverse and critical voices advance social justice in OER.