From Trauma-Informed Pedagogy to Trauma-Informed Andragogy: The Ethics of Achieving Lexical Clarity to Reframe Approaches in Adult Clinical Education

Abstract

Background: Trauma-informed approaches are gaining traction in delivering clinical education. While andragogy reflects more accurately with adult learning principles, the term pedagogy is often used as a blanket reference to approaches in clinical education, which overlooks the nuanced needs of adult learners. Aim: This study argues the need to achieve lexical clarity by transitioning trauma-informed pedagogy to trauma-informed andragogy in clinical education to align education practices with the principles of adult learning. Method: A dialogic duo-ethnography was used between two nurse educators with diverse clinical and academic backgrounds. Co-constructed discussions were centered on reflecting on their experiences and perspectives in delivering or receiving education in the clinical environment, as it relates to trauma-informed approaches. Dialogic conversations were recorded via Microsoft Teams with transcripts cleansed and thematically analyzed. Ethical exemption was obtained through The University of Queensland in Australia, for being a negligible-risk research (2025/HE000122). Results: Three major themes were generated from the discussions and reflexive notes: (i) adopting andragogy over pedagogy for lexical clarity, (ii) the ethics of shared learner–educator responsibility, and (iii) the ethics of using appropriate terminology. The study underscores the ethical responsibility of achieving lexical clarity to acknowledge the unique needs of adult learners and educators and to foster a shared learner–educator responsibility, which highlights the limits of pedagogy. The distinction is not only a semantics issue—the lack of precision is an epistemic injustice that also represents ethical implications—as it may inadvertently deny adult learners the linguistic and conceptual tools to articulate their unique experiences. Conclusion: Shifting from pedagogy to andragogy aligns with the professional demands of clinical education and underscores the importance of shared responsibility in trauma-informed learning, as it aligns with the principles of adult learning and ethical practice.