Towards Engagement in Self-Leadership Practices in the Era of Reforms: South African Nurse Teachers' Views on Own Personal Mastery

Abstract

Nurse teachers are expected to be agile and adequately prepared to cope with a continuously changing and competitive academic environment. This requires nurse teachers to continually strive for high levels of personal mastery, that is, the motivation to continue learning to improve teaching and learning. However, little is known about nurse teachers’ personal mastery within a nursing education environment. The article aims to understand nurse teachers’ perceptions of their personal mastery and how their personal mastery could be promoted in a nursing education institution (NEI) context.An explorative, descriptive qualitative design was utilised. Data were collected from nurse teachers working in purposively selected NEIs in South Africa. Four semi-structured focus group interviews were audio-taped, and the interviews were conducted until data saturation was reached. Tesch’s methods were used for thematic data analysis. The two themes that emerged were: views about the meaning of personal mastery in nurse teachers, and views on how nurse teachers’ personal mastery can be enhanced in an educational institution. Nurse teachers should engage in self-leadership practices in order to stimulate their personal mastery. Institutions should provide enabling environments that support the continuous learning of nurse teachers. Teaching nurses in today’s competitive environment requires nurse teachers who are agile and striving to achieve high levels of self-leadership and personal mastery.