To provide rigour when preparing a research design, the researcher needs to carefully consider not only the methodology but also the philosophical intent of the study. This, however, is often absent from reported research and provides the reader with little evidence by which to judge the merits of the chosen methodology and its influence on the study. The purpose of this paper is to set out the case for critical realism as a framework to guide appropriate action in practice development (...) and realistic evaluation for understanding the consequences of those actions.It is evident that critical realism and critical social science share common ground. Emancipatory practice development (ePD) is based on the philosophy of critical social science and therefore by virtue is linked to the tenets of critical realism. Until now, the evaluation of ePD programme has been well served by 4th-generation evaluation. However, this paper outlines the need for a different approach to evaluation, one that is based on critical realism, that is concerned with emancipation, and that can be used in the ever-changing environment of clinical practice. Realistic evaluation not only links strongly to ePD programmes, but also serves as the basis for effective research questions that will test the outcomes of the research and inform the transferability of ePD mechanisms into differing contexts. (shrink)

A transformational model of professional identity formation, anchored and globalized in workplace conversations, is advanced. Whilst the need to theorize the aims and methods of clinical education has been served by the techno-rational platform of ‘reflective practice’, this platform does not provide an adequate psychological tool to explore the dynamics of social episodes in professional learning and this led us to positioning theory. Positioning theory is one such appropriate tool in which individuals metaphorically locate themselves within discursive action in everyday (...) conversations to do with personal positioning, institutional practices and societal rhetoric. This paper develops the case for researching social episodes in clinical education through professional conversations where midwifery students, in practice settings, are encouraged to account for their moment-by-moment interactions with their preceptors/midwives and university mentors. It is our belief that the reflection elaborated by positioning theory should be considered as the new epistemology for professional education where professional conversations are key to transformative learning processes for persons and institutions. (shrink)

The concept of emotional intelligence has grown in popularity over the last two decades, generating interest both at a social and a professional level. Concurrent developments in nursing relate to the recognition of the impact of self‐awareness and reflexive practice on the quality of the patient experience and the drive toward evidence‐based patient centred models of care. The move of nurse training into higher education heralded many changes and indeed challenges for the profession as a whole. Traditionally, nurse education has (...) been viewed as an essentialist education, the main emphasis being on fitness for practice and the statutory competencies. However, the transfer into the academy confronts the very notion of what constitutes this fitness for practice.Many curricula now make reference in some way to the notion of an emotionally intelligent practitioner, one for whom theory, practice and research are inextricably bound up with tacit and experiential knowledge. In this paper we argue that much of what is described within curriculum documentation is little more than rhetoric when the surface is scratched. Further, we propose that some educationalists and practitioners have embraced the concept of emotional intelligence uncritically, and without fully grasping the entirety of its meaning and application. We attempt to make explicit the manner in which emotional intelligence can be more realistically and appropriately integrated into the profession and conclude by suggesting a model of transformatory learning for nurse education. (shrink)