An Essential Critical Mind in the Nursing Education Publication Process Un esprit critique essentiel dans le processus de publication sur la formation en sciences infirmières

Keywords:

• nursing education,
• publication process,
• critical inquiry

One of the six learning domains in the Canadian Association of School of Nursing (2022) National Nursing Education Framework, “Research skills and critical inquiry,” is defined as “Thinking and inquiry skills to appraise, generate, synthesize, translate, and mobilize evidence-based knowledge” (p. 7). These skills, sought across baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral nursing programs, are represented and shared in the work of nursing scholars worldwide. As Co-Editors-in-Chief of Quality Advancement in Nursing Education - Avancées en formation infirmière (QANE-AFI), we ponder the meaning and understanding of being “critical” in editorial decisions and throughout the publication process. We question: Does the work extend our understanding of phenomena, and does it articulate the value to the domain of nursing education knowledge? Does the reviewer pose questions to the author that prompt depth of position and extension of meaning and application of the findings? As we experience a more dynamic context of publication decisions, there are calls for rethinking and reflecting on what Bristow (2021) refers to as a “nuance of ‘being critical’ [that] needs to be negotiated through an open and reflexive politics of critique directed towards social, political and organisational action, and infused and tempered with a politics of care and marginalism” (p. 25). In keeping with the value of social justice within the recently updated Code of Ethics for Nurses (Canadian Nurses Association, 2025), authors of articles in this issue of QANE-AFI situate their critical inquiry and scholarship to more fully understand and guide action in the care and prevention of exclusion and discrimination of populations. Their research informs the politics of care and marginalism among people with physical, sensory, intellectual, and/or developmental disabilities, including nursing students. Entering a critical space as authors, reviewers, and editors in the publication process requires considering equity and inclusiveness in how knowledge is advanced through academic publishing, now more than ever (Bristow, 2021; Cook-Sather & Healey, 2024). A critical mind is a determinant of ethical practice in all nursing domains. As scholars, reviewers, and editors, we are custodians of the discipline of nursing and its nursing education domain, making decisions about the relevance of phenomena and how they are conceptualized, studied, written, and published to advance the practice of nursing education. Bringing a critical mind to the publication process requires openness and curiosity about difference, richness and depth of inquiry and review, and expertise and honesty—and it is also a reflection on power relations and dynamics (Martin-Thomsen et al., 2021). The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) also demands this level of reflection. Sharing knowledge globally and learning from one another about how generative AI alters and potentially enhances the publication process is an essential preoccupation. Again, there are questions: What is a rigorous method and discussion? What is fair in posing the problem and in reporting the results? What principles and values guide us as we consider what counts as original and transparent work? We are in a phase of asking questions, and we must commit to an open and inquiring mind that will ultimately honour fairness, equity, and quality in our publication processes. We contend that a critical mind in the publication process must be focused on a common goal as a knowledge community. The process itself is conceptualized as a triad among author, reviewer, and editor in which inquiry and learning can be shared in the development of an excellent and insightful publication (Cook-Sather & Healey, 2024). Participants in this relational triad remain open to ideas, questions, and challenges offered by each. In an increasingly polarized world, it is important to ask questions, be open to difference, and accept uncertainty and …