A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LONG-TERM PROGRAMS IN ONCOLOGY NURSING CONTINUING EDUCATION (ANDRAGOGY, EDUCATION).
Contributors: Columbia University. Teachers College.
Published: 1986
Number of pages: 287
Subjects: Education, Adult and Continuing.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Nursing has become a specialized profession. Education is the process whereby nurses obtain the knowledge and skills to become expert in specialized areas of practice such as oncology. Nursing continuing education, one aspect of the nursing education process, is vital in bridging the link between theory and practice. As a process, however, very little study has been undertaken in continuing education to determine the most effective ways to present specialized content. Practitioners have relied on established approaches involving formats of short-term (1 or 2 day offerings) or long-term (30 or more contact hours). Similarly practitioners advocate the use of models upon which to base practice, yet these models have not been tested. One such model is andragogy. This model, which was popularized by Knowles, is viewed as appropriate for nursing continuing education because of its emphasis on adult learning processes.

The purpose of this study is twofold: to examine the problems, issues and exemplary practices in one specialized area of Nursing continuing education, long-term programs in oncology nursing, and to determine factors that facilitate or impede the use of andragogical principles in these programs. Sixteen andragogical practices described by Knowles were synthesized from the literature. These practices, in conjunction with Knowles' assumptions regarding adult learners, were used to define andragogy and andragogical practices.

Results of the study indicate that there is a general acceptance of andragogy by those program directors and faculty who are familiar with the concept. All of the program directors and approximately half of the faculty interviewed report being familiar with the concept. Half of these interviewed had had experience practicing and/or applying all of the practices. Results, however, also indicate that Knowles' definition of andragogy is too instrumental to account for other learnings that take place in long-term oncology nursing programs such as self-reflective learning. The definition of andragogy posed by the Nottingham Andragogy Group, therefore, may be more appropriate.

A description of the problems and issues found in long-term oncology nursing continuing education programs today is also provided.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-06, Section: A, page: 1984.

Thesis (ED.D.)--COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TEACHERS COLLEGE, 1986.

School code: 0055.