ERIC Number: EJ1043504
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1052-0147
EISSN: N/A
Academic Staff Perceptions of Factors Underlying Program Completion by Australian Indigenous Nursing Students
West, Roianne; Usher, Kim; Foster, Kim; Stewart, Lee
Qualitative Report, v19 Article 24 2014
An increase in the number of Indigenous health professionals is one way to help reduce the poor health outcomes of Australia's Indigenous people. However, while Indigenous students are enrolling in Australian tertiary undergraduate nursing courses in increasing numbers, their completion rates remain lower than non-Indigenous students and many barriers hinder course completion. This critical interpretive qualitative study explores academic staff perceptions of factors enabling successful course completions by Indigenous nursing students from universities in Queensland, Australia. Content analysis of data revealed five themes: (a) Individual student characteristics; (b) Institutional structures, systems, and processes; (c) Relationships, connections, and partnerships; (d) Family and community knowledge, awareness, and understanding; and (e) Academics' knowledge, awareness, and understanding. To increase the number of Indigenous nurses, strategies such as appointing Indigenous nursing academics; partnerships between nursing schools and Indigenous Education Support Units, and the implementation of tailored cross-cultural awareness programs for nurse academics are proposed.
Descriptors: Nursing Students, Indigenous Populations, Academic Persistence, Graduation Rate, College Faculty, Teacher Attitudes, Undergraduate Students, Student Characteristics, Institutional Characteristics, Partnerships in Education, Interpersonal Relationship, Social Networks, Indigenous Knowledge, Cultural Awareness, Mixed Methods Research, Teacher Surveys, Performance Factors, Achievement Need, School Holding Power, Foreign Countries, Qualitative Research
Nova Southeastern University. 3301 College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33317. Tel: 954-262-5389; Fax: 954-262-3970; Web site: http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A