Learning among nursing faculty: Insights from a participatory action research project about teaching international students

Abstract

It is imperative that nursing education addresses the issues arising from globalization. The adjustment challenges faced by international nursing students globally highlight the need to understand how nursing faculty experience and teach nursing classes with a mix of domestic and for- eign students. This article reports on a participatory action research (PAR) study to examine and enhance the scholarly teaching of international nursing students. The overarching research question for this PAR was: How did participation in a PAR study contribute to shared learning and professional development of nursing faculty teaching international stu- dents? Five major themes were identified across the PAR: creating sharing spaces, recognizing and respecting diver- sity, developing and acknowledging teaching capabilities, utilizing precious time, and valuing the research. In summary, PAR was a useful approach to engage faculty in research by providing a process and a space to address concerns about the teaching and learning of international students.