Nurse educators' perceptions of critical thinking in developing countries: Ghana as a case study

• Main Authors: Boso CM, Gross JJ
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2015-09-01
• Series: Advances in Medical Education and Practice
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/nurse-educators39-perceptions-of-critical-thinking-in-developing-count-peer-reviewed-article-AMEP

Christian Makafui Boso,1 Janet J Gross2,31School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health Science and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana; 2Morehead State University, Morehead, KY, USA; 3School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaAbstract: The ability to critically evaluate information for the purpose of rendering health care is a prerequisite for modern nurses in a complex and ever-changing health care environment. The nurse educators’ perceptions influence the utilization of critical thinking strategies in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to assess nursing faculty’s perceptions of critical thinking. Using a questionnaire 106 nurse educators from two types of nursing educational program self-reported their perceptions. Data were collected from November 2013 to March 2014. Results were presented using frequencies, percentages, and t-test. The findings revealed that majority (95.3%) of nurse educators could not provide definitions that captured both affective and cognitive aspects of critical thinking. However, the majority of nurse educators had positive perceptions of critical thinking. Nurse educators in universities had more positive perceptions of critical thinking than those in the nurses’ training colleges (P=0.007). The results suggested that the current nursing programs are not preparing nurses with the necessary critical thinking skills for the complex health care environment. Professional development programs in critical thinking should be instituted for nurse educators to assist them in developing appropriate teaching strategies to foster students' acquisition of critical thinking skills.Keywords: nurse educators, critical thinking, perceptions, Ghana, developing countries