RESULTADOS DEL ANÁLISIS ESTADÍSTICO DE LOS DATOS

Participants reported that a lack of sufficient human resources and adequate equipment was experienced in the theoretical teaching environment.

“Yes you need a lot of improvement. From our side, as lecturers we need equipment, and the issue of human resources - we need like I said, the preceptor. We really need them.” (B2)

“They do not get somebody to be with him or her to learn with them at their own pace. So this is not enough coaching, not enough mentoring for this young nurses, especially ... because in the clinical area they really…, there is a shortage, there is a shortage.” (B3)

Sufficient support for students promotes the learning opportunities afforded to students in the teaching and learning areas. Participants viewed that fitting personnel and appropriate teaching equipment should be available to support students, in order to gain trust, which is linked to quality teaching and training. This availability of supporting personnel and equipment in the teaching and learning environment is important to ensure that students will have implicit trust in their learning.

3.7.1.1 Availability of human resources

As stated previously in this report, participants perceived a shortage of educators and preceptors for the large numbers of students. A lack of educators increases the

pressure and work stress which may cause burnout due to the demands for support from large numbers of students. Visits of educators to students in the clinical areas were described as being only for assessment and not for effective accompaniment. The availability of preceptors in the CLE is of utmost importance for the successful integration of theory and practice.

“I think the accompaniment is not effective that much because of the large group of students that we are having, so sometimes you cannot do it as it is expected, like 30 minutes for each student if you have say 20 students in the clinical area. When are you going to finish the accompaniment, when are you going to do the assessment? And if you are alone as a lecturer it is problematic. Maybe if you can get assistance then it would be better. So the little that we are doing we are trying, but it is not that effective as it should be.” (B1)

Nardi and Gyurko (2013:317) confirm that globally there is a shortage of nursing educators, and it has negative results for student academic support and clinical accompaniment. In a study conducted by Güner (2015:65) it was found that in state universities in Turkey that the ratio of students-educator was twenty to twenty-eight students per educator, while the desired ratio is eight to ten students per educator.

Participants were concerned that due to the shortage of educators, accompaniment of students could not be done effectively and students were only assessed. The lack of effective support affects the quality of teaching and learning. A need was emphasised for preceptors to support students in the clinical area with assistance of adequate accompaniment.

“They can also ask: ‘Why can this and this lecturer makes sure that she is in the clinical areas?’ Uhm, there is also to me ... I do not know if it is right to mention it here – now, we really, really, really need more people, lecturers or preceptors or whatever they want to be appointed in the school. I really feel sorry for the students and also if you do accompaniment. To me it is not accompaniment when you just go there for feedback, because five or six students booked you to do a feedback, an assessment ...ok, you are giving feedback afterwards so in that way you correct them a little bit... so in a way it is accompaniment, but to me it is not the accompaniment that it should be. So I think you are not really doing accompaniment as how you should. And also, I want to say, due to the large

numbers of students and we have three different hospitals in which you must accompany students.” (A1)

Participants were worried that the absence of educators to accompany and support students in the clinical environment caused a decrease in the trust students should have in clinical learning opportunities. A lack of transport facilities to take educators from the NEI to distant clinical facilities in the rural areas also impeded effective support of students during WIL.

“There is a lack of trust when it comes to the clinical experience and areas. And I think the main causes are related to the institution. That is what I think. Because one time you will be informed that there is no transport to take you to the clinical area. And then if you do not come and you keep on rescheduling that I won’t be coming on this day and I won’t be coming on that day, then the students start to lose trust and the other thing is the time that we have as lecturers to accompany the students.” (C2)

The study of Walker, Dwyer, Moxham, Broadbent and Sander (2012:533) supports the presence of preceptors in the clinical environment to render continuous support to students and to contribute positively to critical thinking and growth of students.

A shortage of human resources, namely educators, is a concern for effective accompaniment. In the classrooms, a concern is the unavailability of effective technology.

3.7.1.2 Technology available to support theoretical teaching

Participants indicated that the campuses of tha public NEI had a lack of resources. Some of the equipment is outdated and does not meet the expected technological standards in the theoretical teaching environment. Educators were using outdated technology and did not have updated technology in the theoretical learning environment. No creative presentations for teaching could be implemented. Participants perceived that these aspects created mistrust in the educators’ abilities. Oppawsky (2014:5) argued that traditional teaching and learning approaches should be supplemented with free media resources which could assist work-based learning.

“You know the trust from our students is gone, with our presentations, because we are still using the old style, we do not have resources. The classroom environment itself, you can go to the classroom ... I mean, you go and see it is just a hall. It is a class, an old table standing there and nothing else. Then you have to use either the books or present from whatever you are presenting. We do not have resources. We do not even have the overhead projector ... So at the end of the day you still use the old method of teaching.” (B1)

Bassendowski and Petrucka (2013:667) emphasise that a combination of technology in the classroom enables educators to create learning opportunities that are meaningful to students.

Participants’ intentions were to use and implement updated technology in the classrooms, but they became frustrated with the lack of available equipment and experienced that nothing was done to improve the situation and it impeded the quality of teaching to students.

“... we must have the necessary equipment that we can use to maybe assist you or make your teaching very interesting, especially with regard to computers, or maybe having the blackboard, work out a nice assignment – your teaching on computer and may be resources. ... We are supposed to be accredited as a Higher Education Institution [Public NEI] but I don’t know how possible it is going to be in the specific circumstances. ... and I think there it comes to the frustration, because why are you talking and nothing is being done ... so then you just say, ‘I am only going to do my job, this little bit I am supposed to do, because I cannot trust these people’ ... they are always asking for inputs and it has been given, but nothing happens and is realised about it.” (A1)

“There is a scarcity of instruments, the resources. We do not have enough projectors, we do not have enough laptops, we only have one in our institution here, and if it is broken, it is broken; you have to improvise other ways of teaching. Yes, we do have the transparencies but to find projectors; also they are not functioning very well.” (B3)

Burkett (2016:4) agrees that the use of technology is important in education. Instructional spaces, such as computer availability, give students a comfortable place for learning and working on group projects.

The lack of resources in the classroom restricted the educators to be innovative in teaching and in utilising various types of teaching methods.

“However, of course with all the problems with the material and resources we find ourselves somehow not being able to utilise some other methods and you know with all the methods of I think one is to give a lecture. I mean a lecturer is preparing herself and then not having quality technology available.” (C2)

The insufficiency of technology was reported to be not limited to the classroom, but it was mentioned that in some campuses of the public NEIs’ simulation rooms were not according to expected standards.

3.7.1.3 Technology to support simulation teaching and learning

Participants felt that educators demonstrated the procedures correctly, but they faced a shortage of resources to support students’ learning outcomes. They raised the concern that there was a lack of manikins to demonstrate critical procedures to students in simulation. A lack of resources makes teaching difficult for the educators.

“Yes in the demonstration room if I talk about, for example, CPR or whatever, I cannot do a CPR here. So I need to go to the ward to demonstrate the CPR there on dolls. We do not have CPR dolls here. We do not have a simulation room for midwifery setup here - we do not have the resources.” (B2)

“However, of course with all the problems with the material and resources we find ourselves somehow not being able to utilise some other methods.” (C12)

Effective education needs sufficient human resources, technology and equipment to support learning opportunities for students in the theoretical learning environment. Resources also are important in the CLE.