Nurse teacher perceptions of the practice architectures for nursing education in Kenya

Abstract

This study explores nurse teacher perspectives on the availability and adequacy of the requisite infrastructure for nursing education in diploma level nurse training institutions in Kenya, and how the existing infrastructure influence the teacher’s work. The nurse teachers’ descriptions of their work conditions are compared to the expected practice conditions as prescribed by the NCK Training and Accreditation Standards (2014). The theory of practice architectures is used to map how the prerequisites are connected to teachers practices and, subsequently, the outcomes of education.

Qualitative data was collected through policy document review and use of questionnaires to collect perspectives of nurse teachers in diploma level nurse training institutions in Kenya.

The findings show that there are opportunities for improvement of teacher preparation and development programs and the nurse training curriculum. Material-economic resource constraints remains a major challenge to nurse training institutions in Kenya and creative nurse teachers are needed to come up with sustainable solutions. Improved partnership and collaboration can also help to mitigate resource shortages for improved nursing education.

The nurse teachers’ recommendations provide a great starting point for enhancement of nursing education in Kenya. Further participatory research on how the practice architectures affect teachers’ practices will provide opportunity for all stakeholders to communicate and take collective action to improve practice architectures, and outcomes of nursing education. Keywords: nurse teacher perspectives, practice architectures, nursing education as a practice