Background: Practices in higher education have been criticised for not developing and preparing students for the expertise required in real environments. Literature reports that educational programmes tend to favour knowledge conformation rather than knowledge construction; however, community service learning (CSL) is a powerful pedagogical strategy that encourages students to make meaningful connections between the content in the classroom and real-life experiences as manifested by the communities. Through CSL, learning is achieved by the active construction of knowledge supported by multiple perspectives within meaningful real contexts, and the social interactions amongst students are seen to play a critical role in the processes of learning and cognition. This article reflects facilitators’ perspective of the knowledge construction process as used with students doing community service learning in basic nursing programmes. Objectives: The aim of this article was to conceptualise the phenomenon of knowledge construction and thereby provide educators with a shared meaning and common understanding, and to analyse the interaction strategies utilised by nurse educators in the process of knowledge construction in community service-learning programmes in basic nursing education.Method: A qualitative research approach based on a grounded theory research design was used in this article. Two nursing education institutions were purposively selected. Structured interviews were conducted with 16 participants.Results: The results revealed that the knowledge construction in community service-learning programmes is conceptualised as having specific determinants, including the use of authentic health-related problems, academic coaching through scaffolding, academic discourse-dialogue, interactive learning in communities of learners, active learning, continuous reflection as well as collaborative and inquiry-based learning. Upon completion of an experience, students create and test generated knowledge in different contextual health settings.Conclusion: It was concluded that knowledge is constructed by students as a result of their interaction with the communities in their socio-cultural context and is mediated by their prior concrete experiences. The implication of this is that students construct knowledge that can be applied in their future work places.

ResearchOne of the realities of contemporary society is the rapid emergence and growth of a knowledge-based economy owing to the use of information communication technology (ICT). Undoubtedly, universities are major roleplayers in knowledge generation.[1] This function of universities underpins the development of postgraduate (PG) students as competent knowledge generators and scholars. However, the ICT revolution is challenging many universities to transform their traditional approach towards research supervision into knowledge production.[2] The research supervision process is expected to transform research candidates into knowledge producers and managers, with research supervisors playing an informed, supportive role in students' research journeys.The dynamics and complexities of the current environment demand a change from conventional research supervision processes. Before 2000, PG students were full-time resident students, thus making it easy for supervisors to have close, personal and individualised contact with them.[2] The current environment, however, demands a change, as the old model is unsuitable for students and supervisors, who are now both more mobile. Furthermore, an increasing number of PG students work full time, making the traditional model of supervision inappropriate and obsolete. [3] Trudgett [4] acknowledges that high-quality supervision is strongly associated with the capacity of academic staff. PG research supervision requires sound knowledge in terms of research methodology, and facilitation and management skills from research supervisors. In developed countries, research supervision is one of the competencies of nursing education programmes. However, this is not the case in countries where the curriculum of health professionals appears static and outdated, [5] as in South Africa (SA). Until 2012, the SA Nursing Council (SANC) did not include research supervision in the training curriculum of nurse educators. This has been identified as a weakness, given that a nursing qualification requires a research project at both diploma and degree level.[6] Nurse educators have been learning to supervise research through trial and error, and/or by informal training, such as workshops.This gap in the training of nurse educators may result in low in-and output in the research supervision process. This, in turn, decreases the nature of support, guidance and facilitation provided to PG nursing students and consequently the reduced throughput of these students. Between 2000 and 2006, at the College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban, SA the average drop-out rate at Master's level for thesisbased coursework was 56%, while the completion rate for Master's and Doctoral students averaged 11% and 10%, respectively. [7] Furthermore, studies reported a rapidly increasing number of PG students, most of whom were underprepared with regard to research. [8][9][10] With the foregoing in mind, the following research questions directed this study:• What perceptions do PG nursing students...

The traditional teaching approach has been criticised for not equipping health professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills to work in rural, remote and under-resourced communities. [1,2] The conventional approach focuses on hospital-based, curative-focused teaching, which relies on sophisticated technology. Furthermore, upon graduation, many nurses are reluctant to work in rural, underprivileged areas, where resources are scant and the focus is on healthcare and prevention. [2] This instructional approach hinders the equal distribution of health professionals in South Africa (SA) and therefore the quality of services provided to its citizens. This, in turn, impedes the promotion of primary healthcare (PHC). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines PHC as 'essential healthcare based on practical scientifically sound and socially sound acceptable method and technology, universally accessible to all in the community through their full participation; at an affordable cost, and geared toward self-reliance and self-determination'. [3] PHC is therefore an approach to healthcare that promotes the attainment by all people of a level of health that will permit them to live socially and economically productive lives. Healthcare is essential, practical, socially and scientifically sound (evidence based), ethical, accessible, equitable, affordable, and accountable to the community. Furthermore, PHC is more than primary medical or curative care or a package of low-cost medical interventions for the poor and marginalised. To address these challenges, the WHO, International Council of Nurses (ICN) and South African Nursing Council (SANC) recommended the implementation of a community-based education (CBE) programme as part of the teaching curriculum in the training of nurses. [2,4-6] CBE refers to learning activities that take place in a particular setting, i.e. the community setting. [7] Students are allocated to different communities (urban, peri-urban and rural or semi-rural) to undertake activities relevant to community health needs and that address community health-related needs. CBE may contribute to solve the inequity in service delivery by producing healthcare professionals who are willing and able to work in underserved areas, particularly rural communities. [8,9] CBE also offers opportunities for students to learn in situations similar to those in which they might work later in their professional lives. It may equip students with transferable core competencies that they would not learn otherwise, such as leadership skills, the ability to work in teams, and the capability to interact with the community. The South African Department of Education (DoE) and the Council on Higher Education (CHE) endorse the implementation of CBE as a responsive educational method. [10] Furthermore, the Department of Health (DoH) (SA), in the 1997 White Paper on the Transformation of the Health System, highlighted that in order to align nursing education with PHC the curriculum should be based on community needs and linked to PHC...