Pre-registration nursing students and learning via a satellite campus in New Zealand – the lived experience.

Abstract

Context: Student engagement, a term synonymous with education and the learner, is a dominant educational construct central to higher education and teaching and learning. However, student engagement with tertiary level pre-registration Bachelor of Nursing educational frameworks for entry to the registered nurse scope of practice in New Zealand is one construct under-represented in research literature. Aim: This research aims to explore the experiences, perspectives and views of previous students who enrolled to undertake their BN programme at a satellite campus in New Zealand. Specifically, it aims to find ways in which student engagement and success with distance education and blended learning at a satellite campus could be improved. Methods: A qualitative Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach explores how it is for previous student nurses who learnt their professional discipline this way. Following Smith, Flowers & Larkin’s (2009) IPA framework, data is generated by transcription of semi-structured interviews and focus groups from the selected purposive sample. Findings: Thirteen previous students participated in this study. From their reported experiences, seven themes were identified: motivation; value of forming new and effective relationships; lifeworld—learning as an adult student and negotiating competing demands; location; lifeworld—in a small group and blended learning environment. Represented in two overarching categories: Self and being a learner, findings express participant’s perceptions and views. Conclusions: Participants report the importance of support – family, friends, peers, and academic – towards their ongoing intrinsic motivation. These aspects of support firmly establish a need for effective communication to build relationships and connect ongoing motivation to achievement with academic learning. Findings suggest that blended learning approaches enhance student engagement with distance education when support structures and support mechanisms firmly establish and drive motivation for academic achievement.