Perceptions of the adequacy of teaching and learning resources for undergraduate medicine (mbchb) and nursing (bscn) programmes in two Kenyan public universities

Abstract

High students’ intake in Public Universities has led to reduced learning space and sharing of few teaching/learning resources by both lecturers and students. The purpose of this study was to assess the adequacy of teaching and learning resources for effective implementation of the MBChB and BScN programmes in two public universities in Kenya. The specific objectives of this study were to assess the perceptions of the adequacy of teaching resources in the MBChB and BScN programmes by lecturers, assess the perceptions of the adequacy of learning resources by students in the MBChB and BScN programmes, identify the challenges encountered by lecturers in acquiring teaching resources and compare the perceptions of adequacy of teaching resources in both Universities. The study was conducted in Moi University (A) and University of Nairobi (B). The study design used was mixed methods research design. Convenience (non-probability) sampling was used to select 100 University lecturers (50 from each university) and 50 from each school as participants of the study. Purposive sampling was used to select students for Focus Group Discussions. 38 students’ representatives in the MBChB and BScN programmes (2 representatives per academic year) were interviewed using an interview guide. There were four Focus Group Discussion (FGD) groups with 8 to 10 students per FGD. Data was collected from university lecturers of the MBChB and BScN programmes in the two Universities, using self-administered closed ended structured questionnaires. Findings from both Universities showed that 88% of lecturers perceived that teaching resources were inadequate, 77% perceived that lecture room space was inadequate and 84% that skills labs were not well equipped. FGDs revealed that students. A comparison between the two Universities revealed that University A had better equipped skills laboratories while University B had a better stocked library. Conclusion: there are inadequate Teaching/learning resources in public Universities which are attributed to high student intakes and financial constraints.