TRANSFER OF LEARNING FROM TRAINING TO PRACTICE FOR NUTRITIONISTS FROM TVET; CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: A CASE OF UASIN GISHU COUNTY OF KENYA

Abstract

Nutrition related Non Communicable Diseases, NCDs, also known as lifestyle diseases have risen to the top of policy and program agendas in many countries thereby providing a compelling mandate for a multi-strategy action. (Steyn, Nel, Whadi-ah, Rosemary, & Mbithe, 2010). There is a widespread collective decisiveness that action is needed urgently and that it should be comprehensive, sustained and, that it should be evidence based. The training program provided by TVET for nutritionists has failed in its mandate for providing for a high impact intervention means of tranfering training in dealing with NCDs. This study was a Sequential, Mixed Methods of Explanatory Research employing a cross-sectional survey along with qualitative inquiry tools of in depth interviews that investigated the transfer of learning from the training component to practice of nutritionists from TVET. To measure the transfer of learning from the training component to practice, a survey was conducted on the target industry for nutritionists in which clinical and community nutritionists within Uasin Gishu County responded to a questionnaire that sought to establish the perceived transfer of learning from training to practice by nutritionists. In addition, an in depth interview with key informers comprising one community nutrition administrator and four senior nutritionists working in a teaching and referral hospital within the county were engaged to corroborate the data collected from the survey and measure the transfer of learning from the training component. SPSS software package was used to compute quantitative data. Transcriptional analysis was engaged to analyze qualitative data. This study established that; the training of nutrtionists in TVET tertiary institutions bears a number of anomalies that ought not to be ignored. Key issue highlighted is failing to effectively practice what is taught during training. This failure of the transfer of learning is observable at the skills level, attitude level as well as at the knowledge level. Causes of the gap between training and performance point to learner characteristics, intervention design and delivery that reveal gaps in performance specifications and content relevance that include instructional strategies, methods,practice feedback and technological surport. The training component needs to be readjusted at the three domains of learning to facilitate more effectively the transfer of learning from training to practice; Technical surport, facilitated by training institutions, need regular exposure to a wide scope of challenges experienced during the practice of nutrition for effective, relevant, responsive and quality curriculum implementation. There is a need for TVETA to carry out a regular matching of resources used in training nutritionists in Kenya with the emerging lifestyle needs of the job market; There is need for regulation and uniformity in the organization and supervision of attachment for Nutrition trainees across all TVET tertiary institutions to avoid differences in the quality of nutritionists graduating from these institutions. Including stake holders in designing training, practice and timely feedback, needs analysis will help the transfer of learning from training to practice and it should be deliberate, sustained and evidence based..