Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Mothering: an unacknowledged aspect of undergraduate clinical teachers’ work in nursing

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Advances in Health Sciences Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Clinical education is an important component of undergraduate nurse education, in which clinical teachers facilitate students’ application of theoretical classroom knowledge into the clinical practice setting. Mothering as part of clinical teachers’ work was a major finding from a larger study exploring clinical teaching work to identify what shaped their work and barriers to their work in clinical settings. The study used semi-structured interviews, informed by the work of Foucault. Maternal discourses emerged as a predominant one as participants presented their relationships with students describing examples of nurturing, protecting, supporting, guiding and providing discipline. The unexpected finding contradicted the dominant view of students as adult learners, and potentially positions them as dependent in their learning in clinical environments. Exploration of this discourse in the context of the study forms the basis of this paper. It is argued that the overall impact of maternal discourses on clinical teaching and learning is unclear but warrants more detailed investigation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andrews, G. J, Brodie, D. A., Andrews, J. P., Wong, J., & Thomas, B. G. (2005). Place(ment) matters: Students’ clinical experiences and their preferences for first employers. International Nursing Review, 52, 142–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhopal, K. (1998). South Asian women in east London: A comprehensive introduction. Women’s Studies International Forum, 21(5), 485–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolen, K. M. (1992). Prehistoric construction of mothering. In C. Claassen (Ed.), Exploring gender through archaeology: Selected papers for the 1991 Boone Conference. Monographs in world archaeology No. 11. Madison Wisconsin: Prehistory Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S., Small, R., & Lumley, J. (1997). Being a ‘good mother’. Journal of Reproductive & Infant Psychology, 15, 185–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, E. (2005). Adult learners learning from experience: Using a reflective practice model to support work-based learning. Reflective Practice, 6(4), 459–472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elvin-Nowak, Y., & Thomsson, H. (2001). Motherhood as idea and practice: A discursive understanding of employed mothers in Sweden. Gender and Society, 15, 407–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faber, A. J. (2002). The role of hierarchy in parental nurturance. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 30, 73–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finn, T., King, J., & Thorburn, J. (2000). The educational needs of part time clinical facilitators. Contemporary Nurse, 9, 132–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forcey, L. R. (1994). Feminist perspectives on mothering and peace. In E. N. Glenn, G. Chang, & L. R. Forcey (Eds.), Mothering: Ideology, experience, and agency (pp. 355–375). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forrester, G. (2005). All in a day’s work: Primary teachers ‘performing’ and ‘caring’. Gender and Education, 17(3), 271–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge. London: Tavistock.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, M. (1973). The birth of the clinic: An archaeology of medical perception. London: Tavistock.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fowler, C., & Lee, A. (2004). Re-writing motherhood: Researching women’s experiences of learning to mother for the first time. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 22, 39–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glenn, E. N. (1994). Social constructions of mothering: A thematic overview. In E. N. Glenn, G. Chang, & L. R. Forcey (Eds.), Mothering: Ideology, experience, and agency (pp. 1–29). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunsberger, M., Baumann, A., Lappan, J., Carter, N., Bowman, A., & Goddard, P. (2000). The synergism of expertise in clinical teaching: An integrative model for nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education, 39, 278–282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, D., & Mannix, J. (2003). Mothering and women’s health: I love being a mother but … there is always something new to worry about. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 20, 30–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Javo, C., Rønning, J. A., & Heyerdahl, S. (2004). Child rearing in an indigenous Sami population in Norway: A cross cultural comparison of parental attitudes and expectations. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 45, 67–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jinks, A. M., Boreham, N. C., & Webb, C. (1998). A study of attitudes to student-centred learning and teaching, and concepts of andragogy in senior nurse educationalists in England. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 50(3), 375–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keary, A. (2000). Changing images of mother/mothering. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 25, 13–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koniak-Griffin, D., Logsdon, M. C., Hine-Martin, V., & Turner, C. (2006). Contemporary mothering in diverse society. Journal of Obstetric, Gynaecological and Neonatal Nursing, 35, 671–678.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LeCuyer-Maus, E. A., & Houck, G. M. (2002). Maternal characteristics and maternal limit-setting styles. Public Health Nursing, 19, 336–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liamputtong, P., & Naksook, C. (2003). Life as mother in a new land: The experience of motherhood among Thai women in Australia. Health Care for Women International, 24, 650–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez, V. (2003). Clinical teachers as caring mothers from the perspectives of Jordanian nursing students. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 40, 51–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lupton, D. (1992). Discourse analysis: A new methodology for understanding the ideologies of health and illness. Australian Journal of Public Health, 16(2), 145–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, J. B. (1999). When mothers become teachers: Effects of the mothering experience on prospective teachers. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada, April 19–23, 1999.

  • Manne, A. (2005). Motherhood: How should we care for our children. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKenna, L. (2004). A Critical examination of clinical teaching in undergraduate nurse education, Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Deakin University, Melbourne.

  • McKenna, L., & Wellard. S. J. (2004). Discursive influences on clinical teaching in Australian undergraduate nursing programs. Nurse Education Today, 24(3), 229–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myrick, F. (1991). The plight of clinical teaching in baccalaureate nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education, 30(1), 44–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oermann, M. H. (1998a). Work-related stress of clinical nursing faculty. Journal of Nursing Education, 37(7), 302–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oermann, M. H. (1998b). Role strain of clinical nursing faculty. Journal of Professional Nursing, 14(6), 329–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Shea, E. (2003). Self-directed learning in nurse education: a review of the literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 43(1), 62–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinnegar, S., Lay, C. D., Bigham, S., & Dulude, C. (2005). Teaching as highlighted by mothering: a narrative inquiry. Studying Teacher Education: A Journal of Self-study of Teacher Education Practices, 1(1), 55–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powers, P. (2001). The methodology of discourse analysis. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, H. (2000). Assumptions underlying self-directed learning may be false. Medical Education, 34, 243–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, P. E., & Meleis, A. I. (1991). Maternal role of clerical workers: A feminist analysis. Social Sciences in Medicine, 32, 1425–1433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tardy, R. W. (2000). “But I am a good mom”: The social construction of motherhood through health-care conversations. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 29, 433–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorne, S., Reimer Kirkham, S., & MacDonald-Emes, J. (1997). Interpretive description: A non-categorical qualitative alternative for developing nursing knowledge. Research in Nursing & Health, 2, 169–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tong, R. (1989). Feminist thought: A comprehensive introduction. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vogt, F. (2002). A caring teacher: Explorations into primary school teachers’ professional identity and ethic of care. Gender and Education, 14, 251–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voysey, E. (1998). How can we both structure and validate the role of the academic as ‘support’ for students in their university endeavours? In B. Black & N. Stanley (Eds.), Teaching and learning in changing times. Proceedings of the 7th Annual Teaching and Learning Forum (pp. 336–340). University of Western Australia.

  • Walker, C. (1995). Conceptualising motherhood in twentieth century South Africa. Journal of South African Studies, 21(3), 417–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, J. R. (1993). Collaborative teaching: Preparing for the reality of nursing. Nursing Management, 24(12), 47–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitaker, M. (2001). Doin’ what comes naturally: When mothers become teachers. Educational Foundations, 15, 27–45.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, Peninsula Campus, P.O. Box 527, Frankston, VIC, 3173, Australia

    Lisa McKenna

  2. School of Nursing, University of Ballarat, Mt Helen campus, P.O. Box 663, Ballarat, VIC, 3353, Australia

    Sally Wellard

Authors
  1. Lisa McKenna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sally Wellard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lisa McKenna.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

McKenna, L., Wellard, S. Mothering: an unacknowledged aspect of undergraduate clinical teachers’ work in nursing. Adv in Health Sci Educ 14, 275–285 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-008-9109-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-008-9109-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation