Exploring a positive approach in facilitating teachers personal and professional development

This presentation will reflect on experiences from the perspective of two education developers in an ongoing teacher development project within the Nurse Education Program at Kristianstad University, Sweden. When we entered the project the nurse education management had already decided to translate and implement the philosophy and framework of person-centred care into a person-centred education environment (McCormack & McCance, 2016). Our contribution was to host a number of workshops aiming at facilitating the change process among the nurse teaching staff. The framework urged us to pay attention to teachers prerequisites (for example interpersonal skills, commitment, beliefs and values and knowing ‘self’), the educational environment (for example shared decision making systems, effective staff relationships, supportive organizational systems) and processes (working with teachers beliefs and values of how to design education, being engaged, having sympathetic presence). The intended student outcomes are experience of relevant content, deeper involvement, feelings of well-being and a flourishing culture.

As the basis for three workshops, Scharmers’ (2005) Theory U was used to guide the process, implying that change ought to start in a psychological safe zone. Also appreciative inquiry was a principle behind workshop design implying identifying what is already working. The experience so far will be presented, discussed and comments are highly appreciated.