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Enhancing Teaching Skills Through Short Courses: A Quantitative Review of Public Health Education in Sudan

Received: 14 April 2020     Accepted: 30 April 2020     Published: 4 July 2020
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Abstract

This evaluation draws evidence on the effectiveness and outcome of learning and teaching courses that were offered to a number of teaching staff of the Academies of Health Sciences, Midwifery Schools and Centres for Continuous Professional Development in Sudan. It is based on a cross-sectional study consisting of self-administered questionnaires conducted from October 2017 to January 2018. The questionnaires were used to measure the extent to which the participants of the training courses acquired knowledge and skills and applied these skills in their jobs. Data was analysed using Excel sheets and SPSS version 21 and significant tests performed. The response rate for the self-administered questionnaire was 80%. Most of participants were females, early middle-aged, bachelor’s degree holders with more than 9 years of experience in the area of teaching health care professionals. The results are presented following the Kirkpatrick framework for evaluation of training, which was used to measure participants' reactions, learning and change of behaviour. Most of the participants were satisfied with the design and content of the course but expressed concerns regarding its duration and lack of residential facilities for course participants. Pre and post tests were used to measure learning. Comparison of the two results showed that participants gained knowledge in writing learning outcomes, although presentation skills showed no improvement following the training and the use of technology remained a challenge even after the course. In terms of application of the newly gained knowledge and skills, the findings illustrated that over 90% of the participants were satisfied with what they had learned after 3 months or more following the training course, and over 65% of the participants stated that the knowledge gained from the training remained useful. In conclusion, short courses on teaching and learning can be a valuable investment to both instructors and students. The evaluation has shown that course participants were satisfied with the training courses, gained new knowledge, and were able to apply the acquired knowledge and skills without any difficulties. It is therefore suggested to cascade these training courses to all remaining States in Sudan in order to improve the skills and capabilities of teaching staff.

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 8, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjph.20200804.14
Page(s) 115-122
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Capacity Development, Human Resources Development, Kirkpatrick Model, Training Evaluation, Training Institutions, Training of Trainers, Public Health, Sudan

References
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[8] Rotem A, Zinovieff MA, Goubarev A. A framework for evaluating the impact of the United Nations fellowship programmes. Human Resources for Health. 2010; 8 (1): 7.
[9] Mertens DMaW, A. T. Program Evaluation Theory and Practice - Second Edition A Comprehensive Guide: Guilford Press; 2018.
[10] Hall J. Cross-Sectional Survey Design. 2008 2020/03/25. In: Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods [Internet]. Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.; [173]. Available from: http://sk.sagepub.com/reference/survey.
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  • APA Style

    Maye Omar, Amani Mustafa, Nada Mohamed Ali Alnair, Amel Abdu Abdalla Gesmalla, Nour Ahmed Yousif Ahmed, et al. (2020). Enhancing Teaching Skills Through Short Courses: A Quantitative Review of Public Health Education in Sudan. Science Journal of Public Health, 8(4), 115-122. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20200804.14

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    ACS Style

    Maye Omar; Amani Mustafa; Nada Mohamed Ali Alnair; Amel Abdu Abdalla Gesmalla; Nour Ahmed Yousif Ahmed, et al. Enhancing Teaching Skills Through Short Courses: A Quantitative Review of Public Health Education in Sudan. Sci. J. Public Health 2020, 8(4), 115-122. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20200804.14

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    AMA Style

    Maye Omar, Amani Mustafa, Nada Mohamed Ali Alnair, Amel Abdu Abdalla Gesmalla, Nour Ahmed Yousif Ahmed, et al. Enhancing Teaching Skills Through Short Courses: A Quantitative Review of Public Health Education in Sudan. Sci J Public Health. 2020;8(4):115-122. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20200804.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjph.20200804.14,
      author = {Maye Omar and Amani Mustafa and Nada Mohamed Ali Alnair and Amel Abdu Abdalla Gesmalla and Nour Ahmed Yousif Ahmed and Nadia Yousif Mohamed Elemam and Nabil Aziz and Seseni Nu and Stephen Blount and Sarah Yoss and Dafallah Alam-Elhuda},
      title = {Enhancing Teaching Skills Through Short Courses: A Quantitative Review of Public Health Education in Sudan},
      journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {8},
      number = {4},
      pages = {115-122},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20200804.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20200804.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20200804.14},
      abstract = {This evaluation draws evidence on the effectiveness and outcome of learning and teaching courses that were offered to a number of teaching staff of the Academies of Health Sciences, Midwifery Schools and Centres for Continuous Professional Development in Sudan. It is based on a cross-sectional study consisting of self-administered questionnaires conducted from October 2017 to January 2018. The questionnaires were used to measure the extent to which the participants of the training courses acquired knowledge and skills and applied these skills in their jobs. Data was analysed using Excel sheets and SPSS version 21 and significant tests performed. The response rate for the self-administered questionnaire was 80%. Most of participants were females, early middle-aged, bachelor’s degree holders with more than 9 years of experience in the area of teaching health care professionals. The results are presented following the Kirkpatrick framework for evaluation of training, which was used to measure participants' reactions, learning and change of behaviour. Most of the participants were satisfied with the design and content of the course but expressed concerns regarding its duration and lack of residential facilities for course participants. Pre and post tests were used to measure learning. Comparison of the two results showed that participants gained knowledge in writing learning outcomes, although presentation skills showed no improvement following the training and the use of technology remained a challenge even after the course. In terms of application of the newly gained knowledge and skills, the findings illustrated that over 90% of the participants were satisfied with what they had learned after 3 months or more following the training course, and over 65% of the participants stated that the knowledge gained from the training remained useful. In conclusion, short courses on teaching and learning can be a valuable investment to both instructors and students. The evaluation has shown that course participants were satisfied with the training courses, gained new knowledge, and were able to apply the acquired knowledge and skills without any difficulties. It is therefore suggested to cascade these training courses to all remaining States in Sudan in order to improve the skills and capabilities of teaching staff.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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    AU  - Maye Omar
    AU  - Amani Mustafa
    AU  - Nada Mohamed Ali Alnair
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    AU  - Nour Ahmed Yousif Ahmed
    AU  - Nadia Yousif Mohamed Elemam
    AU  - Nabil Aziz
    AU  - Seseni Nu
    AU  - Stephen Blount
    AU  - Sarah Yoss
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    AB  - This evaluation draws evidence on the effectiveness and outcome of learning and teaching courses that were offered to a number of teaching staff of the Academies of Health Sciences, Midwifery Schools and Centres for Continuous Professional Development in Sudan. It is based on a cross-sectional study consisting of self-administered questionnaires conducted from October 2017 to January 2018. The questionnaires were used to measure the extent to which the participants of the training courses acquired knowledge and skills and applied these skills in their jobs. Data was analysed using Excel sheets and SPSS version 21 and significant tests performed. The response rate for the self-administered questionnaire was 80%. Most of participants were females, early middle-aged, bachelor’s degree holders with more than 9 years of experience in the area of teaching health care professionals. The results are presented following the Kirkpatrick framework for evaluation of training, which was used to measure participants' reactions, learning and change of behaviour. Most of the participants were satisfied with the design and content of the course but expressed concerns regarding its duration and lack of residential facilities for course participants. Pre and post tests were used to measure learning. Comparison of the two results showed that participants gained knowledge in writing learning outcomes, although presentation skills showed no improvement following the training and the use of technology remained a challenge even after the course. In terms of application of the newly gained knowledge and skills, the findings illustrated that over 90% of the participants were satisfied with what they had learned after 3 months or more following the training course, and over 65% of the participants stated that the knowledge gained from the training remained useful. In conclusion, short courses on teaching and learning can be a valuable investment to both instructors and students. The evaluation has shown that course participants were satisfied with the training courses, gained new knowledge, and were able to apply the acquired knowledge and skills without any difficulties. It is therefore suggested to cascade these training courses to all remaining States in Sudan in order to improve the skills and capabilities of teaching staff.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 4
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Author Information
  • Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom

  • Public Health Training Initiative, The Carter Center, Khartoum, Sudan

  • Global Health Directorate, Federal Ministry of Health, Khartoum, Sudan

  • Human Resources Development Directorate, Federal Ministry of Health, Khartoum, Sudan

  • Academy of Health Sciences, Federal Ministry of Health, Khartoum, Sudan

  • Academy of Health Sciences, Federal Ministry of Health, Khartoum, Sudan

  • Country Representative, The Carter Center, Khartoum, Sudan

  • Special Health Projects, The Carter Center, Atlanta, GA, USA

  • Special Health Projects, The Carter Center, Atlanta, GA, USA

  • Special Health Projects, The Carter Center, Atlanta, GA, USA

  • Academy of Health Sciences, Federal Ministry of Health, Khartoum, Sudan

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