A case for open pedagogy in nursing education

Background: Open pedagogy increases access to equitable nursing education with its commitment to the scholarship of "teaching and learning"and critically framed, student-centered, relational, and open knowledge principles. Purpose: This study examined the operation of and factors that nurture and challenge the practice of open pedagogy in an undergraduate digital distance nursing education program. Methods: An exploratory qualitative methodology was used to examine linkages between open pedagogy and a nursing education program in an open digital distance Canadian university. A critical realist research paradigm provided the framework for the study. Results: Our findings shed light on how open pedagogy is practiced in relation to its 5 principles and delve into the major themes of nurse educator agency, course design, and institutional structure. Conclusions: The study addresses a dearth in the literature by exploring the potential of open pedagogy to increase access to meaningful and critically framed nursing education.