Educational Practices and Nursing Students’ Competency Self-Efficacy in Rural Uganda

Abstract

Background: The educational practices used during teaching of nursing students are constrained by resources, especially in the rural settings of developing countries. Studies from such settings are few in spite of their contribution toward development of interventions to enhance learning outcomes. Aim: To explore nursing students’ perceptions about educational practices used in teaching and learning across educational environments and self-efficacy related to meeting entry-level competencies required in the nursing profession. Methods: A cross-sectional design, the Nursing Competence Self-Efficacy Scale (NCSES), and the Educational Practices Questionnaire were used to collect data from 143 students in a school located in rural Southwestern Uganda. Results: Some of the seven educational practices including student–faculty interaction, collaborative learning, active learning, feedback, time on task, high expectations, and diverse learning were being utilized in educational experiences. The mean scores indicate that getting feedback and high expectations were rated as not important and disagreed that collaborative learning, time on task, feedback, and high expectations were being utilized. The mean NCSES score (65.7%) showed suboptimal competency self-efficacy. The lowest competency self-efficacy was in the domain of prevention (56.7%). The predictors of overall competency self-efficacy were active learning (p < 0.01), presence of high expectations (p < 0.01), and perceiving high expectations as important (p < 0.05). These three factors accounted for 38% of the variance. Conclusion: Nursing students’ competence self-efficacy was associated with the education practices utilized during teaching and learning. Efforts to improve competency-based nursing education in rural areas of countries such as Uganda must focus on training faculty in effective educational practices such as active learning, giving feedback, and collaborative learning.