Nursing Students’ Learning Engagement Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Namibia: Implications for Nursing Education

Introduction Ensuring strong student engagement in both traditional and virtual learning settings was essential for achieving positive educational results during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, fostering student engagement in both the traditional (face-to-face) and virtual learning environments has been accompanied by distinct challenges. There has been a lack of research specifically addressing the issue of nursing students’ engagement within a blended learning setting in Namibia. Aim To explore and describe nursing students’ learning engagement experiences at a university campus in Namibia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A qualitative, descriptive, phenomenological study was employed to collect data from 10 purposively selected nursing students at a university campus in Namibia. Data from in-depth, face-to-face, individual interviews were collected using a semistructured interview guide. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step method. Results The findings of the study describe students’ learning engagement experiences under four distinct themes: (a) conditions and contexts of engagement; (b) student acts of engagement: positionality of teacher- and student-facilitate