Factors influencing enrolled nursing students' academic performance at a selected private nursing education institution in KwaZulu-Natal.

Makhosazane B Dube,Puseletso R Mlotshwa

doi:10.4102/curationis.v41i1.1850

Abstract

BackgroundThe success of any educational institution is measured by its academic performance or how well students meet the standards set out. Currently, nursing students’ academic failure is a phenomenon of growing international interest because of its economic impact and its negative effects on the availability of future nurses in different health care systems. Factors identified as influencing the academic performance of students include the socio-economic background of parents or guardians, lecturer–student relationships, academic support services, demographic factors, quality of nurse educators, availability of facilities in the school, the language of instruction and level of entry qualifications of students.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of enrolled student nurses on factors influencing their academic performance in a private nursing school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.MethodData were collected from 100 respondents using an adapted instrument related to the factors believed to influence students’ academic performance.ResultsThe results showed that parental involvement in education, good and supportive relationships between nurse educators and students, classroom computer technological gadgets, internet connection and adequate learning facilities were perceived as fostering better academic performance of students. In contrast, poor family background, use of English language for classroom instruction as well as negative peer group influences were leading to poor academic performance.ConclusionNursing institutions should, therefore, select students with higher-level entry qualifications, early identify at-risk students, recruit more qualified nurse educators and upgrade their facilities.

Highlights

In every educational institution, success is measured either by the academic performance of the students (Ushie et al 2012:178) or by how well students meet the standards set out by the local government and the institution itself (Bell 2011)
Eight items helped to determine the student nurses’ perceptions of factors relating to communication skills that influenced their academic performance (Table 1). These results suggest empirically that the use of information communication technology (ICT) has a positive effect on academic performance of student nurses
The results showed that phone calls, emails and electronic discussion boards classroom computer technological gadgets and internet services were reported to have a positive influence on the academic performance of 74% (n = 74), 80% (n = 80) and 70% (n = 70) of the respondents, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Success is measured either by the academic performance of the students (Ushie et al 2012:178) or by how well students meet the standards set out by the local government and the institution itself (Bell 2011) In nursing, factors such as the terminology, the academic workload, and the responsibility or human life in the clinical field place enormous stress on the student and can affect their academic performance (Alden 2008:63). Factors such as the terminology, the academic workload, and the responsibility or human life in the clinical field place enormous stress on the student and can affect their academic performance (Alden 2008:63) Factors such as the socio-economic background, the ability of students to handle the change from a school teaching environment to a nursing college learning environment and low self-efficacy contribute to the academic performance of enrolled nursing students (Jafta 2013:2). Factors identified as influencing the academic performance of students include the socio-economic background of parents or guardians, lecturer–student relationships, academic support services, demographic factors, quality of nurse educators, availability of facilities in the school, the language of instruction and level of entry qualifications of students

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Conclusion