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Quartey J.1, Eksteen C.A.2, Pickworth G.2
1University of Ghana, Physiotherapy, Accra, Ghana, 2University of Pretoria, Physiotherapy, Pretoria, South Africa
Background: Self-directed learning (SDL) has become a focus for health professions education in the past few decades due to the complexity and changes in the health professions development. The demands of modern society, the exponential increase in knowledge, a complex and changing healthcare environment in which the professional competence of healthcare professionals is tested emphasises the importance of these professionals being self-directed- life-long learners. On the other hand, learning approaches could identify student´s preference for perceiving and processing information. The learning approach students adopt influences the quantity and quality of their learning and the end product of an assignment can serve as the evidence of the way in which students processed content is associated with their learning approach.
Purpose: To determine physiotherapy students´ readiness for self-directed learning and their learning approaches.
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional intervention study was conducted at Department of Physiotherapy, University of Ghana. Two five-point Likert type instruments (the Self-directed learning readiness scale and the Approaches and study skills inventory for students) were used to obtain information about SDL and learning approaches from third and fourth year physiotherapy students before and after implementation of two modules designed to foster self-directed learning.
The mean, standard deviations, frequencies and percentages were used to summarize the ordinal data collected using Stata version 14 programme. The paired t-test was used for within groups comparison, Chi-square test for associations between groups and two-sample t-test for between groups outcomes for SDL and learning approaches pre and post implementation of modules respectively.
Results: A total of 119 students aged between 21 and 23 years participated in the study of which majority (78%) showed low to moderate self-directed learning readiness (SDLR) before and after the implementation of the modules. There were no significant differences and associations of students SDL readiness pre and post implementation within and between groups (p>0.05). Most of the students in this study had a predilection for using deep or strategic approaches to learning. There were no significant differences and associations (p>0.05) of students learning approaches pre and post implementation as well.
Conclusion(s): It could be said that the opportunity to learn through SDL appears to be potentially existent since this was the first time to have engaged in SDL instructional activity. The preference for deep approach of learning suggests that students are interested in generating meaningful understanding while those who used the strategic approach probably tailored their studies to content and lecturers guidelines.
Implications: Considering the shift of focus towards student-centred instructional approaches for health professions education the results of this study might be the first step towards the adaption of the instructional approach for physiotherapy education at the University of Ghana to prepare would-be physiotherapists for local relevance and global competitiveness and to prepare them to become change agents in the health care system.
Funding acknowledgements: University of Ghana
Topic: Education
Ethics approval: Ethics and Protocol Review Committee, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, University of Ghana.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
