Teachers' perceptions, facilitators, and barriers to the regular use of self-reflection in public health higher education during COVID-19 — a mixed methods approach

The objective of this study was to assess the perceptions as well as to explore the facilitators and barriers to the regular use of self-reflection as a pedagogical tool by teachers in public health education during COVID-19. We used a mixed methods approach, comprising a cross-sectional survey followed by in-depth interviews. Quantitative findings revealed that there was a significantly greater proportion of regular users of self-reflection who knew how to incorporate self-reflection elements in their teaching than the infrequent users. Qualitative findings revealed that a recurring reason for using self-reflection in teaching was to better understand students, given the online classroom environment during COVID-19. Teachers expressed the need for support to sustain the regular use of reflection in teaching. Facilitating factors could be external or internal to the teacher. For external factors, a recurring subtheme was institutional support, indicating that teachers expected support (or at least no objections) from their organisation. For internal factors, perceived positive impacts on students was identified as a recurring subtheme. Several barriers to the regular use of reflection were described. These included external factors such as the lack of peer sharing, as well as internal factors such as the prioritisation of other contents to teach. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Reflective Practice is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Internships before and during COVID-19: experiences and perceptions of undergraduate interns and supervisors

Purpose>The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a contingent shift to remote working and learning worldwide. However, little is known regarding the impact of this shift on internships. Moreover, much of the available literature studies on internships are focused largely on perceptions by students, less so by supervisors. This paper describes the impact of COVID-19 on public health (PH) internships and examines interns' and supervisors' perspectives on their experiences in internships before and during the pandemic.Design/methodology/approach>A cross-sectional study design was conducted on two cohorts of undergraduate students and their supervisors in Singapore. Participants were surveyed using questionnaires with both close-ended and open-ended questions about various aspects of the internship experience. Data were triangulated from these surveys and module evaluation reports, and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively.Findings>COVID-19 disrupted internships significantly, with a reduction in the number of placements offered and necessary changes to the internship scope. Overall, the internship experience has been positive. Supervisors and e-interns reported high levels of satisfaction and documented learning gains such as the development of technical skills and soft skills unique to remote work.Originality/value>The study findings fill current gaps in the literature on supervisor perceptions and internship experiences during COVID-19. Recommendations are proposed to optimize e-internships, a potentially authentic workplace in the post-COVID era.