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Much has been written about why students engage in academic studies at university, with less attention given to the concept of disengagement. Understanding the risks and factors associated with student disengagement from learning provides opportunities for targeted remediation. The aims of this review were to (i) explore how student disengagement has been conceptualised, (ii) identify factors associated with disengagement, and (iii) identify measureable indicators of disengagement in previous literature. A systematic search was conducted across relevant databases and key websites. Reference lists of included papers were screened for additional publications. Studies and national published survey data were included if they addressed issues pertaining to student disengagement with learning or the academic environment, were in full text and in English. In the 32 papers that met the inclusion criteria, student disengagement was conceptualised as a multi-faceted, complex yet fluid state that has a combination of behavioural, emotional and cognitive domains influenced by intrinsic (psychological factors, low motivation, inadequate preparation for higher education, and unmet or unrealistic expectations) or extrinsic (competing demands, institutional structure and processes, teaching quality and online teaching and learning). A number of measurable indicators of disengagement were synthesised from the literature including those that were self-reported by students and those collected by a number of tertiary institutions. An examination of the conceptualisation, influences and indicators of disengagement could inform intervention programs to ameliorate the consequences of disengagement for students and academic institutions.

Demand for clinical placements in physiotherapy education continues to outstrip supply. Peer assisted learning, in various formats, has been trialled to increase training capacity and facilitate student learning during clinical education. There are no documented examples of measurable or repeatable peer assisted learning models to aid clinicians in implementing these strategies. The aim of this research was to develop a repeatable and quantifiable peer assisted learning model of clinical education for paired undergraduate physiotherapy students. Additionally, the project aimed to evaluate the impact of clinician engagement in the model development process on their self-rated ability to facilitate peer assisted learning. A series of four workshops was conducted to facilitate development and refinement of a peer assisted learning model by physiotherapy clinical educators. The workshops introduced relevant peer learning principles and a range of clinically relevant educational tools to educators. Consensus was targeted on the tools and approaches that would underpin the peer assisted learning model. A survey investigating participants' self-rated ability to facilitate components of peer assisted learning was administered prior to, and on completion of, the workshop series. Educators agreed on a model to facilitate student peer interaction in clinical reasoning, observation of performance, risk identification and mitigation, and feedback and coaching. Tools to evaluate student and clinical educator outcomes were developed. On completion of the workshops, participants reported significantly more confidence in their ability to facilitate peer assisted learning. Development of a peer assisted learning model of clinical education that is acceptable to clinical educators was achieved through stakeholder involvement from concept stage. Assessment of educator knowledge and confidence, combined with critical review of stakeholder feedback at multiple stages in model development, appeared effective in conveying ownership of the model to clinical educators and identifying the support required for confidence in facilitating peer assisted learning.

Context: Health practitioner registration boards require health professionals to evaluate and maintain “fitness to practice” (FTP). This encompasses the professional behavior, clinical competence, and freedom from impairment required for safe and effective service provision. We developed and implemented policies to promote student self-assessment and support of FTP that were pre-emptive and designed to be helpful and sought clinician feedback on this initiative.Method: An innovative student-centered FTP approach was devised with consideration of defensible ethico-legal practice. A survey explored clinical educators’ perceptions of the FTP policy and the associated education and support. Closed and open survey questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics, qualitative evaluation, and thematic analysis.Results: Seventy-nine physiotherapy clinical educators from 34 sites across eight Australian health services returned surveys. Educators had positive perceptions of policy components, particularly incorporating professionalism as a hurdle requirement and the attendance and incident reporting policies.Conclusions: The benefits of a student-centered FTP approach included clarity and consistency in managing FTP issues and facilitation of student awareness through active engagement in maintaining their FTP. To our knowledge, this paper is the first to report a comprehensive approach to the range of FTP issues incorporating student self-declaration of issues that may affect desirable progression through clinical placements. The policy and program of education and support are likely to be generalizable to health professional training programs that utilize workplace training. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]