The praxis and research of human anatomy through autoethnography.
Date
2016
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Abstract
This thesis is in manuscript format, as per the guidelines of the College of Health Sciences of the
University of KwaZulu Natal. It comprises five manuscripts that have been submitted to accredited
journals for publication (one manuscript is currently in press and the others are awaiting final status
after revisions were completed).
The use of autoethnography as an approach is an emerging transformative field of study within the
Health Sciences at Higher Education institutions and is a move away from the key traditional positivist
models of research in the domain of anatomical education.
This study with praxis and research at the nucleus, aimed to investigate the following: (i) challenges
experienced in the teaching and learning of human anatomy; (ii) the views and perceptions of fellow
colleagues regarding research in the domain of clinically applied anatomy and how this has impacted
on their teaching practices; (iii) the opinions of senior anatomy instructors regarding the state of
anatomical knowledge at their respective institutions; (iv) student attitudes and experiences regarding
human cadaveric dissection through an analysis of their journal-reflective writings; and (v) the use of
mobile devices by learners at a selected medical school.
Each of these aims stated above were achieved through the articles which comprised the manuscript of
this study.
In the first manuscript, Bits, bytes and bones: An Autoethnographic Account of Challenges in Anatomy
Education: Perceptions Emanating from a Selected South African University I describe the
methodological approach of autoethnography, specifically as it applies to reflection and memory work,
and describe how this style enabled me to interrogate the current challenges and dilemmas underpinning
the research, teaching and learning practices within this discipline. This was done through the use of an
exclusive autoethnographic approach which is a qualitative method of research that seeks to describe
and examine personal experience to comprehend cultural practice. The autoethnographic study
highlighted challenges experienced, and these included the shortage of cadaveric material for teaching
and research, the subsequent implementation of medical software applications, deficiencies in the
curriculum and the teaching of anatomy by scientist anatomists.
The second manuscript was entitled Communities of Practice: a new methodology in anatomical
research and teaching. In this the notion of collaborative autoethnography as a research method is
introduced. In this approach, researchers worked in tandem with me to gather autobiographical material
to analyse and understand their data collectively with each contributing to an understanding of the
sociocultural phenomena.
This type of research allowed for in-depth learning about the self and others and fostered collaboration
among researchers in this field of applied anatomy. The use of semi-structured interviews with coauthors (n=10) on co-written papers formed the essential method used in generating this article. The
collaborative autoethnographic study revealed four important themes namely: the value of research
collaboration; the impact of human anatomical variations; the association with medical and non-medical
collaborators; and teaching practice emanating from collaborative research.
In manuscript 3, Views of South African Academic Instructors regarding the Scholarship of Teaching
and Learning in Anatomy Education, a reflective design is presented and it is understood that reflecting
on teaching is commonly referred to as an essential practice for personal and professional development.
Open-ended questionnaires were distributed to senior anatomy faculty based at the eight national
medical schools in South Africa. The emerging argument in this paper is that educational research into
the scholarship of teaching and learning anatomy includes engaging in discipline-specific literature on
teaching, reflecting on individual pedagogical methods and communicating these findings to peers. In
medical education, reflection has been considered to be a core skill in professional ability. Faculty
teaching anatomy highlighted several challenges such as time constraints within the medical
curriculum, the lack of cadavers to reinforce knowledge and lack of appropriately qualified staff in the
delivery of the subject.
The anatomy laboratory is an ideal setting for faculty/student interaction and provides important
occasions to investigate active learning and reflection on anatomical knowledge. This forms the basis
of the Manuscript 4, Reflective Journals: Unmasking student perceptions of anatomical education, in
which seventy-five journals from medical and allied Health Science students were collected and
analysed. Through the use of journal-reflective writing as a technique, student attitudes and experiences
of human cadaveric dissection of anatomy were analysed. Student reflective journals highlighted the
following themes which included (a) Dissecting room stressors, (b) Educational value of dissection ,
(c) Appreciation, Gratitude, Respect & Curiosity for the cadaver , (d) Positive and negative sentiments
expressed in the dissecting room , (e) Benefit of alternate teaching modalities, (f) Spirituality/Religious
Beliefs, (g) Shared humanity and emotional bonds, (h) Acknowledgement of human anatomical
variations, (i) Beauty and complexity of the human body, and (j) Psychological detachment .
For the final manuscript which forms this compilation, Anytime, Anywhere’: Tablet technology in
Medical education, a questionnaire comprising both open and closed- ended questions was analysed
from 179 (60 male; 119 female) second year medical students registered for the Anatomy course to
establish the use of mobile devices by learners at a selected medical school. The themes that emerged
from m-learning included students’ ideas on mobile device engagement, and propositions related to the
advantages and challenges affecting use of mobile devices.
The use of autoethnography as a research approach can be considered dissident, and an ‘anatomical
turn’ in the praxis and research in the domain of anatomical education. This study highlights relevant
contributions to the research, praxis (teaching and learning) of human anatomy through views of all
significant role players – students, researchers and educators. The conceptual framework which was
abstracted from the articles and the thesis in its entirety, offers significant understandings regarding the
praxis and research of human anatomy within the context of educational theory.
Description
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.