Collective consciousness: wading into the discomfort of systemic discrimination
Faculty Advisor
Date
2022
Keywords
anti-racism, colonialism, curriculum, disruption, learning
Abstract (summary)
Background: Racism in nursing towards Indigenous peoples has been evident and well documented (Allen, & Smylie, 2015; Browne, 2005; Vukic et al., 2012). Canadian schools of nursing have been called upon to incorporate teaching of colonial history and address systemic discrimination against Indigenous peoples in response to Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) findings (Baker, 2019; Blanchet Garneau et al., 2017, 2021; Truth and Reconciliation Commission [TRC], 2015).
Methods: Our faculty of nursing has charged a team with forging a path forward in addressing the TRC Calls to Action. Our collective approach in pursuit of transformative nursing education for reconciliation aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (2015): Quality education.
Results: Learning and pivoting to meet the needs of the professional development for faculty and staff is an iterative process. This team has discovered the transformative potential of collective learning in moving towards systemic change (Jakubec & Bourque Bearskin, 2020; TRC, 2015) to inform curricular decisions.
Conclusion: As a team seeking ways to decolonize pedagogies and practice, we are collectively engaged in the learning necessary to confront and unsettle our own thinking. In doing this difficult yet vital work together, we hold one another accountable and support each other; we are developing a collective, anti-oppressive consciousness as we solidify our commitment to this ongoing work. By wading into collective discomfort as a group of learners and educators, we can foster true disruptive change (Blanchet Garneau et al., 2021; Kenney, 2008).
Publication Information
Foster-Boucher, C., Maykut, C., Bremner, S., & Nelson, J. (2022, June 22-25). Collective consciousness: Wading into the discomfort of systemic discrimination [Conference presentation]. Sigma 6th Biennial European Regional Conference, Dublin, Ireland.
DOI
Notes
Presented on June 24, 2022 at the Sigma 6th Biennial European Regional Conference, held at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in Dublin, Ireland.
Item Type
Presentation
Language
Rights
All Rights Reserved