Does Constructivist Epistemology Have a Place in Nurse Education?

Nursing students who undertake the bachelor of nursing degree program are adults, many of whom are considered mature students. As such, they have significant life experiences and a vast amount of knowledge that has been acquired both formally and informally. Much of formal education historically, and even today, is content and curriculum driven, and teacher focused. Constructivist epistemology offers an alternative to traditional pedagogy in that it is student focused and considers previous learning done by the students as a foundation upon which to modify, build, and expand new knowledge. Constructivism also appears to be congruent with adult education theory and therefore offers great potential for the enhancement of self-directed learning. It enhances empowered learning because of the consideration of prior knowledge and the ownership of learning by the students. Implicit in this is the development of metacognitive skills that are an important facet of active and self-directed learning. As a result of undergraduate learning within a constructivist framework, there are likely to be benefits for nurses in the practice setting for making the transition from inexperienced to experienced practitioners. Constructivist learning frameworks provide learning skills that enhance knowledge acquisition with understanding.