Re‐generating the ‘self’ in learning: developing a culture of supportive learning in practice

Abstract

AbstractThis article presents the findings of a project that focused on developing a culture of learning where practitioners were able to engage in supported work‐based learning in a Special Care Nursery (SCN). The project was part of a larger study focusing on the implementation and evaluation of an emancipatory practice development programme in an SCN. The aim of this phase of the study was to gain an in‐depth understanding of how the implementation of practice‐development strategies could enable the creation of a culture of supportive learning in practice. The methodological and philosophical structure of the study was based on emancipatory practice development (ePD). The ePD strategies used are aimed at promoting the empowerment of nursing staff, utilizing staff knowledge and expertise to identify the need for change, encouraging reflection on and in practice, incorporating the views of service users in the change process, and supporting staff to challenge themselves and each other. Questions are framed to evaluate systematically the processes and outcomes of the study with a view to identifying changes in the learning culture that may have occurred as a result of PD strategies. Pre‐intervention findings highlighted that tensions existed between what people espoused about learning and what actually occurred in practice. Through the use of PD processes, participants in the study began to focus on the learning environment. Key themes identified in the data included ‘learning about learning’, ‘movement from subservience to partnership’, movement from rituals to reflective questions’ and ‘movement from self‐immersed to working with one another’. Taking self‐responsibility for learning and ‘regenerating the self’ in learning emerged as key issues underpinning these themes and are subthemes of ‘values and beliefs about learning’. It is argued that developing ‘responsible self’ is key to the creation of a culture of learning where practitioners are able to develop mutually supportive relationships in order to learn in and from their practice. In conclusion, learning culture has a significant impact on how nurses go about their everyday practice. The implementation of PD processes enabled a cultural shift to occur. As a result of this, a supportive learning culture embedded within the workplace emerged. Learning about learning was seen as an important part of the context that enabled the development of the responsible self.