Valuing the emotions of leadership learning experience in nursing education

Abstract

Aim: This paper argues that a greater understanding of the role of emotions in experiencing leadership, the impact of role models and cultures of the workplace and profession, may enable further development for effective leadership development at undergraduate level and beyond.

Background: Leadership has gained prominence as a necessary skill in nursing literature and policy, linking its importance to patient safety, working cultures, resilience and emotional labour globally. Viewed as essential in many undergraduate nursing programmes and a requirement by professional regulators, there is a globally agreed acceptance of its importance. Despite this, the focus on evaluating and researching the effectiveness of leadership learning and through experiences of students in contexts of learning remain limited. This paper presents a discussion on the importance of experiences of leadership, exploring the emotional impact and how enabling reflexivity and critical analysis can be integrated in education. An approach is proposed for nursing education where the emotional impact of experiencing leadership is given significance. Experiences of leadership in practice and educational learning in higher education should allow students to reflect and conceptualise experience, aligning educational contexts of learning. Acknowledgement of emotional experience and pragmatism provides opportunity to strengthen evidence and knowledge and establish leadership as a concept of value in the profession from an early stage.

Design: A critical theoretical discussion paper METHODS: Based on a narrative inquiry study, drawing on theory and philosophies of emotions in education and leadership from 1907 to 2023 RESULTS: Acknowledgement of emotional experience and pragmatism provides opportunity to strengthen evidence and establish leadership as a concept of value in the profession from an early stage.

Conclusions: Placing value on the experience of leadership by reflexivity and pragmatic, experiential approaches to learning can align educational contexts of learning and focus on effective leadership learning for the nursing profession.

Tweetable abstract: Pragmatic approaches and reflexivity rationalise emotional experiences of leadership and encourage critical thinking and learning.

Keywords: Emotions; Experiential learning; Leadership; Nursing education; Nursing research; Reflexivity.