Papers by Deirdre van Jaarsveldt
Journal of nursing & care, Jan 2, 2017
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences
International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences
International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 2021
Abstract Having established an academy for short learning programmes at a university-based school... more Abstract Having established an academy for short learning programmes at a university-based school of nursing in response to the transformation in South African higher education and training, it was necessary to determine the effectiveness of this enterprise. In this article the second phase of the research is reported in which the key factors that contributed towards the effective establishment of the Academy are investigated through a qualitative descriptive design. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with the management team to explore the benefits, challenges, lessons learnt in the process, as well as their recommendations for establishing an academy in similar contexts. A qualitative content analysis was performed. Both an educational and a business component were identified as two strong pillars and quality management emerged as an overarching theme throughout the process. Being flexible and including other healthcare professions, as well as the corporate sector, contributed greatly to the success of the Academy. Ultimately, social responsiveness ostensibly ensures a healthy balance by contributing to the vibrancy of the Academy.
International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 2018
In support of lifelong learning and redressing past inequalities the provision of short learning ... more In support of lifelong learning and redressing past inequalities the provision of short learning programmes and courses was encouraged in South African Higher Education. A school of nursing responded by establishing an academy wherein a range of these programmes was developed and presented. In this article the effectiveness of the initiative is evaluated in comparison to the national purposes for short learning programmes envisioned by the Council on Higher Education. These are to: enable access to higher education; support continuing professional development and generate third stream income for higher education institutions. A single evaluative case study design was employed by use of in-depth individual interviews with academy management team members, as well as a document analysis. The findings indicated that the academy, having navigated complexity, succeeded to a large extent in achieving the purposes. The continuing professional development needs of a wide range of health professionals in different settings were addressed. Regretfully, professional nurses cannot yet earn continuing professional development points in South Africa. Enabling of access to higher education is context bound. Subcategory nurses, for example, are not yet accommodated and applicants for formal academic programmes still need to comply with institutional requirements. A steady third stream income is currently generated in support of scholarship development at the school. Considering that the academy originally aimed "to enable nurses to adapt to the first and third world realities in South African healthcare," it is advisable that this aspect be specifically explored.
Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 2016
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
In the actual learning situation, students develop context-specific strategies for learning in re... more In the actual learning situation, students develop context-specific strategies for learning in response to their own perceptions of the requirements for learning. Among the contextual factors, assessment has a powerful effect on the learning process. However, assessment in the engineering discipline is typically orientated towards demonstrating competence in specific tasks using only traditional assessment techniques. The research questions in this study were: What are the perceptions and practices of the lecturers, who have been trained in "assessment and learning facilitation skills" with regard to alternative assessment? The same research question was raised with those lecturers who have not yet received this training. The study was conducted using the focus group interview technique with participants drawn purposefully from three schools of engineering at a university of technology in South Africa and grouped under one of two categories depending on their training stat...
International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 2015
The Difficult Dialogues project is an international initiative that promotes the development of t... more The Difficult Dialogues project is an international initiative that promotes the development of the art and skill of civil discourse as an essential outcome of higher education. At the University of the Free State, South Africa, the project is implemented by the Centre for Teaching and Learning. When intergroup conflict started disrupting the academic performance of first year nursing students, the School of Nursing consulted with the centre to facilitate a Difficult Dialogues session. This article describes the engineering of a session programme to facilitate learning about navigating diversity and responding to conflict in a constructive way. The rich data of a qualitative inquiry conducted via the Critical Incident Questionnaire are triangulated with literature and other feedback provided to describe to what extent the session contributed towards student learning. A number of participants indicated that they had learnt to respect diversity and had realised that they could cooperate as a team in spite of individual differences. As additional evidence, the students listed specific skills that could aid them in navigating diversity and conflict in future. Considering that the School strives to establish inclusion during the orientation of students, this case raises questions about the sufficiency of such endeavours. In conclusion it is asked to what extent nurse educators should be expected to implement strategies to address issues of diversity in the classroom on a continuous basis.
2013 IEEE 63rd Annual Conference International Council for Education Media (ICEM), 2013
In South African higher education, the establishment of an education system that is democratic, n... more In South African higher education, the establishment of an education system that is democratic, non-racial and non-sexist has been at the centre of the transformation agenda for almost two decades. It is, however, not easy to change a deeply embedded institutional culture. After 14 years in the higher education sector, first as nurse educator and later in academic development, my experience and research have shown that real transformative practice begins with me. I have had to become aware, not only of my own values, beliefs, world-view, etc., but also of my stereotypes, prejudices and biases. My self-explorative research began with a living theory study related to my personal transformation within the context of higher education. It included extensive theory building and an autoethnographic interrogation in my own privileged cultural environment. The concept of cultural competence was an important directive with its emphasis on self-awareness and a desire to “want to”, rather than to “have to” engage in a process of self-renewal. This is a process of cultural humility, where I discovered the concept of caring to be an important catalyst in the transformation of my teaching practice. A special opportunity to put my discoveries into practice presented itself with the launch of the Difficult Dialogues project at the University of the Free State in 2012. The project promotes the development of the art and skill of civil discourse in higher education by training lecturers to create democratic learning spaces. In the Difficult Dialogues project a participatory action research process, with the stages of plan, act, observe and reflect was followed. Data collection included qualitative feedback from two five-day intensive academic development workshops, substantiated by reflective feedback periodically received from the participants during the implementation of the project. As the participants in the Difficult Dialogues project have applied their knowledge and skills in the classroom, many of them have also learnt that they need to reflect critically on their educational practice. These observations strengthen my belief that we-learning begins with me-learning.
Disability & Society, 2015
2013 IEEE 63rd Annual Conference International Council for Education Media (ICEM), 2013
ABSTRACT This research formed part of a larger study concerning an investigation of the e-learnin... more ABSTRACT This research formed part of a larger study concerning an investigation of the e-learning needs of students with disabilities, which involved the use of the Nominal Group Technique (NGT). The NGT is a highly structured consensus method which involves four phases, as follows: Silent generation; round-robin of sharing; open discussion and anonymous voting. The NGT has proven to be a student-friendly data gathering technique and was employed in this study as it was important to provide an opportunity for the participants to discuss and prioritise their e-learning related needs, as well as their recommendations in this regard. The inclusion of students with visual impairments presented challenges, however, as these participants would not be able to read from a hard copy chart sheet or to respond in handwriting. The nominal group process therefore had to be adapted to make accommodations for this category of participants. The objectives in making accommodations for students with visual impairments were to enable them to participate in a particular study and to explore the possibility of conducting the NGT by the use of technology, thus increasing participation for students in distributed locations. The aim of this study required qualitative research and an explorative, descriptive and contextual design was followed. An action research approach, involving cycles of plan, act, observe and reflect was taken. These cycles related to making adaptations to the NGT as data gathering method, to include the specific group of participants. The anticipated use of the Blackboard® online chat tool was abandoned when a range of discoveries was made with regard to the participation of students with visual impairments in a chat. The problems encountered necessitated a review of plans, which initiated a second cycle of action research. The NGT was adapted, but the adaptations limited participation. Yet another cycle of action research is indicated to ensure the full participatio- of students with visual impairments in studies of this nature in future. Furthermore, recommendations were made for technological advancement for students with disabilities at the institution.
Postgraduate Supervision - Future foci for the knowledge society, 2016
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Papers by Deirdre van Jaarsveldt