Browsing by Author "Ramakrishnan, Senthilnathan"

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    Distributed leadership in higher education: an analysis of heads of departments’ leadership practice in the UAE
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-04) Ramakrishnan, Senthilnathan; Abukari, Abdulai
    The purpose of this research is to explore the extent to which leadership styles or approaches adapted by heads of department in selected independent degree awarding institution in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates use the distributed leadership style. This study used a qualitative research approach to achieve the research aim. Evidence from the data shows that there is always no single best approach to leadership and in all places. Leaders’ approaches are driven by the context in which they practice and usually reflect a mixture of different leadership styles. Every leader is different, and they usually do not stick to one type of leadership style as evident in the findings. Leaders tend to adapt different approaches to manage different situations.
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    An investigation into the role of clinical education in preparing undergraduate physiotherapy students for professional practice in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-10) Ramakrishnan, Senthilnathan; Gabor, Marian Grace; Mysore, Sunitha B.
    Background: Clinical education is an integral part of physiotherapy education. In clinical placements students encounter complex cases and challenging circumstances and learn to withstand and overcome these situations. These experiences are vital for graduates’ readiness for professional practice. Purpose: The aim of this research was to understand the contribution of clinical education in preparing undergraduate physiotherapy students for professional practice. Methods: This study took a qualitative methods approach and interviews were used to collect data from physiotherapy students and clinical educators. Participant responses were audio recorded and verbatim transcribed for analysis. NVivo12 was used for analysis of data. Results: Thematic analysis of participants’ interviews confirmed that the real-world experience was useful in developing reflective practice, exposure to evidence-based practice and autonomous practice, opportunity to develop interpersonal skills and develop open-mindedness for feedback which are all vital for professional practice. Conclusion: It was evident from the findings that clinical education played a crucial role in preparing the physiotherapy students for entry-level physiotherapist roles.
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    Nursing and Allied Health Sciences Faculty Satisfaction with e-Learning during COVID-19 pandemic in UAE
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-10) AlMekkawi, Mohamad; Gabor, Marian; Ramakrishnan, Senthilnathan; Muniyandy, Saravanan
    Since the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, e-learning has been massively expanding in higher education institutions. The abrupt transition to e-learning may have influenced the teaching-learning process and created frustration and dissatisfaction among healthcare faculty members. This study aimed to examine faculty members’ satisfaction with e-learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study followed a cross-sectional research design to examine faculty satisfaction with e-learning from May 2020 to July 2020. A total of 61 nursing and allied health faculty members involved in e-learning since the COVID-19 lockdown responded to the ‘Online Instructor Satisfaction Measure’ (OISM) tool. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the participants’ demographics and aggregate the responses. The results showed that the most highly rated domain was Course Design/Development/Teaching. The highest level of satisfaction among faculty members was their ability to access students in the e-learning environment. The least satisfactory domain was institutional support. In conclusion, this study provided insights for education administrators and policymakers on the importance of institutional support for faculty members throughout the implementation of e-learning. The study recommends continuous faculty training activities, adequate managerial support, availability of adequate hardware and software tools, and standardized rules and policies for effective delivery of e-learning.
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    Undergraduate physiotherapy students’ performance in theoretical and practical examinations: A correlational case study in the UAE
    (The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2019) Ramakrishnan, Senthilnathan; Abukari, Abdulai
    The study aimed at finding the correlation between the theoretical and the practical examinations marks of first year physiotherapy students and explore the possible contributory factors for any differences in exam performances. Mixed approach was used and correlation was analysed using Microsoft excel 2013 and interviews were employed to explore the factors associated with good or poor performances in the written and objective structured clinical examinations. There were no significant differences in the scores of theory and practical exams for the whole participants as the means of the former (40.05) and later (40.03) were nearly equal and the r value (0.672) indicated moderate positive correlation but individual differences in performances between the written and objective structured clinical examination noticed. Students and lecturers were interviewed and the qualitative data analysis identified factors associated with assessment methods, instructional strategies and learning styles were contributing for good and poor performances in the theoretical and practical examinations.