An examination of the role oflearning environments in the construction of nursing identity

These issues are considered here primarily from the sociocultural viewpoint of Vygotsky, bringing together the important role of significant participants in the nurse's learning experiences, predominantly peers, and examining briefly the effects of such a viewpoint in relation to nursing education.

Abstract

The interplay between the development of a nurse's identity within the world of nursing, and the construction of relevant nursing concepts is by necessity a difficult and complex one. It is in part grounded in the theories of social interaction, concept formation, and relevant peripheral participation in the workplace, all of which can be related to the nursing role. These issues are considered here primarily from the sociocultural viewpoint of Vygotsky, bringing together the important role of significant participants in the nurse's learning experiences, predominantly peers, and examining briefly the effects of such a viewpoint in relation to nursing education. How best nursing knowledge may be structured to optimize the learner's educational experiences, and how best the learning environment of the student may be utilized to maximum educational benefit still remain complex questions. With moves towards more competence-based learning such interactions may be crucial to our understanding of the complexities of learning in what are essentially very practical-based environments, and at the same time allow us to acknowledge the important mechanisms involved in concept acquisition and transferability, a notion central to lifelong learning.