Disavowal of the behaviorist paradigm in nursing education: what makes it so difficult to unseat?

The literature is replete with calls for disavowal of the behaviorist paradigm in nursing education, a paradigm charged with producing successive generations of passive learners who are incapable of instigating much needed and long overdue reforms within the health care system. Only rarely has this call been challenged by nurse educators. In this article, the role of a paradigm in delineating the nature of and solutions to significant problems within a scientific community is explored. I posit that the current eschewal of behaviorism by nurse educators stems not from its failure to solve significant problems in nursing education but rather from an apparent shift in value orientation--a shift from effecting learning (and health) outcomes to effecting social change. Despite this seeming shift in values, effecting learning outcomes is still held to be an essential aspect of nursing education, and it is because of this, I argue, that the behaviorist paradigm is so difficult to unseat.

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.

Data sharing in nursing research: advantages and challenges.

The sharing of data between investigators has received little attention in the nursing literature. Among other advantages, data sharing reinforces open scientific inquiry, encourages the development of multiple perspectives, and reduces respondent burden. However, ownership and control of the shared data, preservation of respondents' anonymity, and the costs of data sharing are among the issues that need to be addressed in agreements and contracts involving primary investigators, secondary investigators, and data repositories. The original researcher must spend time and energy to make data sharing possible. It is only when such efforts are acknowledged and rewarded that data sharing is likely to become a norm in the nursing profession. The authors argue that research data should be shared and nurse researchers should seek to have data from all publicly funded projects deposited in accessible data repositories. Nurse researchers need to incorporate plans for data sharing into their research programs and press for the infrastructures required to enable data sharing.