ENHANCED LEARNING: THE HIDDEN ART OF REFLECTIVE JOURNAL WRITING AMONG MALAYSIAN PRE-REGISTERED STUDENT NURSES

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Although the impact of reflective journal writing (RJW) on enhanced learning has a long history, studies on this pedagogical tool for enhanced learning are never exhausted.  This study attempts to highlight enhanced self-directed learning through the use of reflective journal (RJ) among Malaysian diploma nursing students.   Methodology: For this study, eight purposefully selected pre-registered student nurses (PRSN) from a public college contributed over 54 reflective journal entries over two months. Through a qualitative content analysis, the journals were analyzed using a model devised by Mezirow (1990) that was previously used by Kember (1999), Chirema (2007), and Kear (2013) to identify the students’ levels of reflection of content/descriptive, process/practical, and premise/critical reflection resembling Transformative Learning Theory (TLT).   Findings: The findings suggested that RJ helps learners become in control of themselves from the early stage of a clinical environment. They expressed their appreciation towards collaborations and are grateful to be able to express their feelings and emotions of “fears” and “trust”. Further, they indicated their mindfulness to appreciate their levels of knowledge and skills through reflection upon the nursing tasks as they make themselves ready to be a future nurse. Furthermore, it was highlighted that feeling competent and being able to work independently and to make sound decisions would not be realized if they could not think critically from the initial stage of clinical environment.   Contributions: This research confirms that PRSN become more self-directed and highly motivated to develop critical thinking to dispose for their better lifelong learning through the use of reflective journals.   Keywords: Content reflection, levels of reflection, premise reflection, process reflection, reflective journal writing.   Cite as: Seyed Abolghasem, F., Othman, J., & Ahmad Shah, S. S. (2020). Enhanced learning: The hidden art of reflective journal writing among Malaysian pre-registered student nurses. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 5(1), 54-79. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol5iss1pp54-79