The encounter between Caring Science and the Lifeworld

Scientific knowledge is characterized by abstract descriptions and structures which are not identical to the lived reality. Scientific knowledge cannot directly be applied on the lived existence, without being transformed and adjusted to the individual’s very complex lifeworld. Learning in caring contexts is an encounter between the scientific knowledge of caring and the learner’s lifeworld. This encounter needs a support that has the potential to bring caring science to life and to start an intertwining process with the lifeworld that creates embodied knowledge. Lifeworld didactics are built on an approach about learning as an individual process and that learning takes its point of departure in the learner’s previous experiences, which accompanies the learning process. The challenges within lifeworld didactics is to be open and sensitive to the learner’s lifeworld and with tact support the development of a reflective attitude in the learning process. Lifeworld didactics strategies are of crucial importance in different caring contexts. This paper presents three lifeworld led phenomenological research projects that have focused on acquiring caring science knowledge in caring contexts, more precisely it is the encounter between caring science and the lifeworld. The research is within the framework of lifeworld didactics, but the three projects each have a special focus. The first illustrates how the learning and caring processes merge and become an intertwined phenomenon in nursing students’ learning. The research is carried out in Dedicated Educational Units (DEU), within psychiatric and orthopedic care. Three perspectives are illustrated in the project; that of the students, the supervisors and the patients. The overall aim is to develop a supervision model that has the potential to support the students’ learning processes as well as the patients’ caring processes. The second illustrates how the concepts ‘patient perspective’ and ‘patient participation’ can be implemented in a clinical setting for elderly patients in order to improve the quality of care. This project is inspired by Participatory Action Research and is built on collaboration between the university and the health care services. The aim is to develop reflective educational material in terms of filmed drama episodes, based on the result of two studies about elderly patients’ participation in team meetings. The third illustrates the perspective of lifeworld didactics in two phenomenological studies that focus on Students` learning in an encounter with patients and Students` learning on the way to becoming professional - supported by supervision in pairs of students. The findings show patterns of essential meanings that have specific significance in the art of supporting students` learning in clinical education. These are; the significance of responsibility, its extent and shape in relation to the supervisor’s ability to adopt a reflective supervising attitude and to be supportive enough but at the same time to not assume the responsibility. The learning process shows to be a challenge for students, where safety in pairs of students has a great significance when coping with the challenge to learn and develop.