Cultural desire need not improve with cultural knowledge : A cross-sectional study of student nurses
- Authors: Isaacs, Anton , Raymond, Anita , Jacob, Elisabeth , Jones, Janet , McGrail, Matthew , Drysdale, Marlene
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Nurse Education in Practice Vol. 19, no. (2016), p. 91-96
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Cultural desire is considered to be a prerequisite for developing cultural competence. This study explored cultural desire among student nurses towards Aboriginal peoples and its association with participation in a one-semester unit on Aboriginal health through a cross-sectional survey. Our main outcome, cultural desire, was measured using two items level of agreement with Aboriginal health being an integral component of the nursing curriculum and an expressed interest in Aboriginal health. 220 (74.58%) student nurses completed the survey. Completing the Aboriginal Health and wellbeing unit did not influence students' opinions on inclusion of the unit as part of the nursing curriculum (odds ratio OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.43-1.29) or their overall cultural desire (mean difference = -0.69, 95% CI -1.29 to -0.08, p = 0.026). Students who completed the unit reported a higher understanding of Aboriginal health (OR = 2.35, 95% CI = 1.35-4.08) but lower interest levels in the subject (OR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.24-0.84). Further research is necessary to explore how and when cultural desire might develop in nurses who are trained in cultural competence particularly in the contexts of post-colonial disparities and political conflict. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.
Transforming the teaching of report writing in science and engineering through an integrated online learning environment, WRiSE (Write Reports in Science and Engineering)
- Authors: Drury, Helen , Jones, Janet
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings
- Full Text: false
- Description: This paper describes an ALTC (Australian Learning and Teaching Council) funded project, which addresses the development of students‟ report writing skills in science and engineering across the undergraduate years. The WRiSE project grew out of concerns about student performance in written assessments, as well as the need to improve graduate writing emphasised by employers and government. The project approach involved a collaborative team across two institutions. The team comprised language and learning specialists and discipline staff who developed learning materials and technical and eLearning specialists who converted these into online materials. Development followed a feedback spiral, which also involved student users. WRiSE is an integrated, freely available, student centred, online learning environment for report writing in nine discipline areas within science and engineering. In each discipline area, interactive learning materials have been developed to address both the product and process of report writing, as well as the concepts and content behind the reports students have to write. WRiSE is designed to meet the needs of students from diverse backgrounds who have had varying writing experiences as it can be accessed according to student needs. Evaluation of WRiSE has been positive in the areas of user friendliness and improved understanding and confidence in report writing. Those students who used WRiSE have attained significantly higher grades in their reports than students who did not use WRiSE.