Deck 7: Critical Theory and Emancipatory Knowledge

Question 1

Which is not a fundamental pattern of knowing in nursing?

A) Ethics
B) Epistemologics
C) Aesthetics
D) Empirics

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which statement accurately reflects a fundamental assumption of emancipatory knowing?

A) Language carries power meanings.
B) All knowledge is value-neutral.
C) Social oppression is natural and unavoidable.
D) Research is an apolitical activity.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

As a nurse, Sheila works hard to establish caring relationships with her coworkers, her patients, and her patients' families. According to Habermas, this activity is most directly related to which area of human interest?

A) Technical interest
B) Emancipatory interest
C) Political interest
D) Practical interest

Answer 3

D

Question 4

According to Freire's theory of human liberation, the members of the dominant group in a society:

A) lack a sense of unity with one another.
B) are barred from realizing their full human potential.
C) deny the self and internalize the consciousness of others.
D) work to preserve the status quo.

Question 5

Freire's theory of human liberation states that disadvantaged groups must accomplish several steps in order to move toward freedom. The first of these steps is:

A) consciousness of emotion, or developing love for self and for those who are privileged.
B) consciousness raising, or coming to realize the actual circumstances of one's own situation.
C) consciousness of unity, or acknowledging that others are also disadvantaged and joining with them to take action.
D) consciousness of actions, or identifying what potential courses of action are feasible but have not yet been tried.

Question 6

Darla has just been hired as the chief nurse practitioner at a community health clinic. Upon starting her new job, Darla notices that the clinic serves a disproportionately large percentage of female immigrants, many of whom have sexually transmitted infections and/or appear to be victims of sexual and physical abuse. Darla immediately begins to analyze various factors that may be contributing to this phenomenon, including the possibility of sex trafficking in the neighborhood. Then, she compiles a list of some of the political and social structures that appear to support these factors. In taking these steps, Darla is most directly demonstrating which trait of critical emancipatory practice?

A) Context
B) Dialectic analysis
C) Critique
D) Reflexivity

Question 7

Steven is a nurse at a drug rehabilitation facility. In order to better understand his patients' experiences, Steven asks them to share stories about their daily lives, including how and why they began using drugs and what sorts of events compel them to use on a daily basis. Using these stories as a starting point, Steven next encourages the patients to brainstorm some ways that they can work to avoid and prevent situations that trigger their drug use. In taking these steps, Steven is most directly demonstrating which trait of critical emancipatory practice?

A) Reflexivity
B) Context
C) Critique
D) Dialectic analysis

Question 8

In critical emancipatory nursing practice, reflexivity involves asking which question?

A) "Do I know what I do, and do I do what I know?"
B) "What do I know, and how do I know it?"
C) "Are the subjects central to the research, or are the researchers central instead?"
D) "What is wrong with the situation, and why does this injustice exist?"

Question 9

Helen has just finished reading a new research report. In reflecting on the report, Helen first considers whether the researchers' methods were sound. Next, she asks herself what ideology the researchers appeared to be working from, as well as who will truly benefit if the researchers' findings are used as a basis for nursing practice. Here, Helen's activities illustrate how the emancipatory approach can strengthen which essential of advanced nursing practice?

A) Organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement
B) Policy for advocacy in health care
C) Scientific underpinnings for practice
D) Interprofessional collaboration for improving health outcomes

Question 10

When examining a policy initiative from an emancipatory perspective, which question would the nurse least likely ask?

A) Is this initiative good for the state of nursing as a profession?
B) Who benefits from this initiative?
C) Which social values does this initiative reflect?
D) From which motives does this initiative arise?