Social justice in nursing education: A review of the literature

Abstract

Background: Social justice is a cornerstone of nursing because nurses have responsibilities for providing equal and fair care for people from all background. Social justice as nursing imperative is clearly recognised by some professional nursing organisations, but not so by others.

Aim and objectives: The aim of this review was to establish the current state of the literature on social justice and nursing education. The objectives included to understand the meaning of social justice for the nursing profession, assess the visibility of social justice learning in nursing education, and explore frameworks for integrating social justice learning in nursing education.

Methods: The SPICE framework was applied to identify the phrases social justice and nursing education. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to search the EBSCOhost database, set email alerts on three databases, and search the grey literature. Eighteen literatures were identified for evaluation of predetermined themes on meaning of social justice, visibility of social justice learning, and frameworks for social justice nursing education.

Findings: Firstly, the meaning of social justice relates to general theories rather than practical issues in nursing. Secondly, social justice is embraced as an imperative in nursing profession. Lastly, critical pedagogies can support social justice learning in nursing education.

Discussion: There is consensus on need for social justice issues to be incorporated in nursing education. This would create paths for nurses to engage in actions that change health inequalities.

Conclusion: Nursing organisations embrace social justice as nursing imperative in different ways. It is important to explore how this imperative is upheld by nursing professional organisations and education institutions.

Keywords: Critical pedagogy; Nursing curriculum; Nursing education; Nursing imperatives; Nursing responsibilities; Social justice.