I am a lecturer in education leadership, management and policy at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Malawi, Southern Africa
Critical education policy study Higher education Educational leadership and management
This descriptive study explored perceptions of lecturers of student evaluations of their teaching at the University of Malawi, Kamuzu College of Nursing. Data were collected from the entire population of lecturers (N=71). Descriptive statistics, t-test, and one-way analysis of variance were computed using SPSS to analyse the data. It was established that generally lecturers had a positive perception towards student evaluation of their teaching, and that their perception did not differ by age, sex, academic qualification, professional rank, or teaching experience. The study further revealed that lecturers’ perceptions of student evaluations of their teaching was more positive when the purpose was formative. The study concluded that student evaluations of the lecturers’ teaching was not a problem but the question to be answered was the purpose for which such evaluation should serve. It was, therefore, recommended that University of Malawi should harness the implementation of student evaluations of lecturers teaching while triangulating with other evaluation methods.
ABSTRACT The literature shows that the question of how to integrate quality assurance into higher education institutions is associated with several obstacles including non‐support from university actors. This study explored the university actors' response to the recently implemented external quality assurance and accreditation regime for higher education in Malawi. The findings showed that university actors respond to external quality assurance in divergent ways, mainly characterised by formal instrumentality, professional pragmatism and symbolic compliance. This meant that it would be naïve for external quality assurance agencies to assume that when university actors participate in external accreditation processes, it means that they embrace external quality assurance as a mechanism for enhancing quality. The implication was that national policy makers and quality assurance agencies should not consider university actors as ‘passive recipients’ that mutely accept quality assurance reforms, but rather seriously attend to them as both ‘makers’ and ‘shapers’ of policy in order to develop quality assurance systems that can be genuinely embraced. The study contributes to research that take a critical perspective in interpreting university personnel response to quality assurance.
Many stakeholders have attributed the decisions of education graduates who decline to enter the teaching profession after graduation, to the University of Malawi selection policy, and have called for the abolition of redirecting students to courses other than their choices. The purpose of this study was to measure the relationship between the University of Malawi selection ‘re-direction policy’ and ‘entrance of education graduates into the teaching profession’. Cross-section data were collected from the total population of education graduates from the University of Malawi, Chancellor College from 2005 to 2009 (n=760), through document analysis and structured interviews. Using the χ2 test, the calculated χ2 (1df) was 3.265, p = 0.071 denoting that the university selection policy and entrance of education graduates into the teaching profession were independent. The study concluded that whether education graduates entered or declined to enter the teaching profession after graduation did not depend on whether they chose or were redirected to education during their university selection.
The chapter discusses patient safety within the context of healthcare education. This is essential because the educational preparation of health care professionals takes place within the clinical learning environment (CLE), and the learning takes place as students provide direct patient care. The chapter discusses that student related factors and suboptimal CLEs are the two main factors that that compromise patient safety. Acquisition of clinical skills is the main student related factor which compromises patient safety and harm to patients is inevitable until mastery of the skill is attained. Suboptimal CLEs are characterised by resource constraints and staff shortages which compromise patient safety. It is argued that safety consciousness is required among educators in health care education for the patient safety agenda and the safety of the students in training to be achieved. Factors within the CLE which compromise the emotional safety of students are also discussed. Finally, strategies to promote patient safety and the safety of students are proposed.
