The Impact of Teaching Materials on the Teaching and Learning of Nursing Professional Techniques in the Medical Technical Institutes (ITMs) of Kinshasa

Abstract

Nursing education requires the safe acquisition of technical procedures. In nursing technical schools, such acquisition depends on access to and pedagogical use of mannequins, models, clinical equipment and audiovisual resources. This study examined the influence of teaching materials on the effectiveness of teaching and learning professional nursing techniques in nursing training institutes in Kinshasa. A descriptive mixed-methods and quasi-experimental study involved 1,200 students, 250 teachers and 50 inspectors or pedagogical analysts. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews and a pre-test/post-test comparison between an experimental group receiving resource-supported teaching and a control group. Descriptive statistics, Student's t-test and thematic analysis were used. Seventy percent of inspectors reported an absence of teaching materials, and 65% of teachers considered their quantity insufficient or very insufficient. Among students, 66.7% reported that materials were available, mainly mannequins. At the post-test, the experimental group achieved a mean score of 6.10 compared with 3.46 in the control group; the difference was statistically significant (t = 5.660; p < 0.05). Teaching materials can improve academic performance and practical competence when they are available, functional and embedded in active learning. Availability alone is insufficient; teacher development, scheduled practical work and institutional monitoring are essential.