Entrepreneurship and innovation in Nigerian universities: Trends, challenges and opportunities.

In a bid to improve entrepreneurial outcomes of graduates from Nigerian universities, the Nigerian government has launched a range of interventions, including a 2004 national policy mandating compulsory inclusion of entrepreneurship education in the curriculum, and support for the establishment and implementation of entrepreneurship development activities by university departments. However, not much is known about the operational nuances, challenges and impact cases that characterise the implementation of this national policy in such a vast, culturally diverse country as Nigeria. To address this lacuna, this study draws on qualitative data from five focus groups, crystalised with quantitative data from 151 students across four Nigerian Universities, to explicate the current trends, successes, and challenges of entrepreneurship development and innovation support in Nigerian universities. The paper offers recommendations on how the current policy on entrepreneurship education in Nigeria can be enhanced to improve student entrepreneurial aspirations and outcomes. It also signposts innovative pedagogic activities which could be deployed to achieve this.

Development of autonomy on placement: perceptions of physiotherapy students and educators in Australia and the United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVES: This paper explores the decision-making processes involved in giving physiotherapy students responsibility on clinical placement and the impact on their developing professional autonomy. METHODS: The qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews, involved physiotherapy students and clinical educators (CEs) from two higher education institutions, one in Australia, and the other in the United Kingdom (UK). FINDINGS: Findings led to the development of a heuristic framework of 'graduated supervision,' a process of progressively less direct observation and monitoring of students as clinical proficiency improved. By focusing on the measured exposure of students to increasing complexity and inverse levels of supervision, the framework captures tacit practices, and consistent, yet varied facilitation strategies adopted across specialties, and evident in clinical education settings in both countries. The framework formalizes, for the first time, assumptions and expectations previously unacknowledged. Factors identified as affecting students' progress toward autonomy include the student/CE relationship, the development of mutual trust through ongoing dialogue, and the importance of formal discussions at the commencement of a clinical placement to establish learning goals, preferred supervision styles and learner responsibilities. CONCLUSION: Insights have significance for the CE community, and students who at times have to second-guess what is required of them and how they might excel on clinical placement.

Education for integrated working: A qualitative research study exploring and contextualizing how practitioners learn in practice.

Integrated working can be a means of providing efficient and cost-effective care, which benefits both service users and health professionals. However, it does require readiness of practitioners to work in new and innovative ways to achieve integration. This paper describes the findings of a qualitative study exploring the nature of practice-based education and training underpinning successful integrated care teams using an ecological systems theory lens. Nine teams in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom (UK) participated in this study. A total of 27 participants were involved in semi-structured interviews during which they shared their views and experiences of learning in practice. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts highlighted the shifting context of working in integrated teams impacting on learning, the influence of leadership on education and training, the nature of in-service training, and the knowledge-sharing culture. The findings highlight that the learning climate is highly dependent on the leadership ethos in the practice context, which influences the allocation of time and resources for training and clinical supervision. Whilst formal education and training has an important role to play in fostering integrated working, informal learning is pivotal to successful integration and potentially has greater impact making it worthy of further study.

Developing an autonomous-support culture in higher education for disabled students.

Inclusive practices have enhanced opportunities for many disabled people to engage in Higher Education; however, although support services that are central to success are increasing they are still intermittent and atomistic. Poor continuity of support is a systemic problem, particularly for students who engage in offsite placements where organisational structures do not adopt a student-centred approach. UK Universities require students to opt-into programmes of support that may necessitate rigorous paper work and labelling processes that may disempower students. Such models of support deter students from disclosing a disability and accessing relevant resources and support in a timely manner. This paper argues that using Self Determination Theory, HE Institutions can develop bespoke models of support, which will enable disabled students to utilize their autonomy agency and capabilities. This approach provides students with the requisite tools needed to take responsibility for their own learning and seek appropriate and timely support when needed.

Empowerment of physiotherapy students on placement: The interplay between autonomy, risk, and responsibility.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of the effects on students of clinical educators' giving or withholding responsibility on placement is limited. The associated empowering, or disempowering impact indicates the need for research on what grounds such decisions are made. AIM OF STUDY: The study aimed to explore clinical educators' perspectives on the importance of giving student physiotherapists increasing levels of responsibility on clinical placement, and the factors considered when giving or withholding responsibility. METHODS: A grounded theory methodology underpins this United Kingdom (UK) based study. The phase of the study reported in this article involved 26, semi-structured interviews with clinical educators, each followed by the completion of a diamond ranking exercise. FINDINGS: Three themes emerged: 1) the ubiquity of risk; 2) the relationship between trust and trustworthiness; and 3) graduated supervision. The first theme, acknowledged that risk is ever-present and that clinical educators are used to managing it, balancing risk and responsibility given to students. The second theme highlighted the importance of developing trust/trustworthiness as a foundation for a sound working relationship between student and clinical educator. The third theme focusing on graduated supervision as a means of empowering students to take on increasingly demanding responsibilities on placement. CONCLUSIONS: The study illustrates the complex relationship between risk, trust, responsibility, and developing student autonomy. A strategy is proposed to provide an empowering alternative to the tendency to increase surveillance and/or limit the responsibility for students who lack confidence or capability in taking responsibility on clinical placement. Future research could aim to test the strategy more widely.