Conceptualisation of e-learning in nursing education in the context of Rwanda

Abstract

Technological innovations such as e-learning are rapidly transforming the ways that institutions of higher education teach and students learn. In nursing education, e-learning offers opportunities to reach a great number of students, irrespective of time and space. In the context of Rwanda, the implementation of e-learning in nursing education was motivated by the country’s need to upgrade the level of working nurses and midwives at a large scale and in a short period. This study aims at exploring the conceptualization of e-learning in nursing education, in the context of Rwanda. Grounded theory paradigm directed this study based on the Framework from Straus and Corbin (2008). The sample size was comprised of 40 participants: 18 nurse educators, 17 nursing students, two ICT managers, and three experts in the fields. The results indicated that e-learning was conceptualised as (a) a mechanism to advance a political agenda; (b) a tool to open access to education for working nurses and midwives; (c) a student-centred approach, (d) a blended learning.

E-learning in nursing education in Rwanda: A middle-range theory

“…The middle-range theory presented in this study was developed based on the results obtained from the open and axial coding process, and the implementation of e-learning in nurs-ing education emerged as a core value. This study's results are expansive and have been published elsewhere; [18,24,33] they have been summarised for this article.…”

“…[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] E-learning allows the students to participate in academic activities regardless of geographic and time constraints. [17][18][19][20] Furthermore, e-learning is viewed as a response to global pandemic diseases such as Covid-19, requiring physical distancing and lockdowns. [6,[21][22][23] In nursing education, the flexibility provided by e-learning allows nurse educators and the students to manage competing interests such as professional development, practice and the family while they continue to teach and learn.…”

“…[6,[21][22][23] In nursing education, the flexibility provided by e-learning allows nurse educators and the students to manage competing interests such as professional development, practice and the family while they continue to teach and learn. [18,24] E-learning enhances learning experiences as it promotes collaborations and communication between instructors and the students. [18,[24][25][26] The success of e-learning depends on teachers' and students' knowledge and skills to use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tools and applications.…”

“…[18,24] E-learning enhances learning experiences as it promotes collaborations and communication between instructors and the students. [18,[24][25][26] The success of e-learning depends on teachers' and students' knowledge and skills to use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tools and applications. [17,[27][28][29] There is a need to train nursing faculty in innovative teaching strategies to get the most out of technology in education.…”

“…[41] In Rwanda, e-learning in nursing education was conceptualised as "a mechanism to advance political agenda to integrate technology in higher education, a tool to open access to education for working nurses and midwives, a student-centred approach and a blended learning." [18] Although the implementation of e-learning in nursing education in Rwanda is positively perceived by nurses educators and students, [18,24,33,37,[42][43][44] several challenges have been reported, and they included language barrier, low ICT literacy of nursing students and nurse educators, resource constraints, resistance to change, issues related to the Moodle R interface design, lack of policies and framework to guide the implementation of e-learning. [24,33,37] This study aimed to develop a middle-range theory to guide the utilisation of an e-learning platform in nursing education in the context of Rwanda.…”