TY - JOUR
T1 - From aspiration to achievements
T2 - Exploring the motivational drives behind female graduate nursing students' pursuit of higher education in Ghana
AU - Iddrisu, Merri
AU - Poku, Collins Atta
AU - Pwavra, Joyce B.P.
AU - Yawson, Anita O.
AU - Mensah, Eva
AU - Oppong, Stella Sarpomaa
AU - Aarah-Bapuah, Millicent
AU - Agyare, Veronica Adwoa
AU - Aziato, Lydia
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2025/4
Y1 - 2025/4
N2 - Background: The nursing and midwifery professions are predominantly female. In Sub-saharan Africa, especially in Ghana, females have traditionally been perceived as homemakers who do not require higher education to play their roles. This phenomenon perpetuates gender inequality, underutilises talents, and denies women opportunities for personal and professional growth. Aim: This study explored the motivational factors influencing the uptake of higher nurse education among female nurses in a resource-constrained setting. Methods: An exploratory, descriptive qualitative approach was adopted with purposive sampling method to recruit 20 nurses pursuing a postgraduate programme in nursing from October to November 2022. Inductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. Result: Two main themes and six subthemes were developed from the data. Female graduate students believe the reasons to pursue higher nursing education are attributed to one's workplace, friends and family's demands. Participants pursuing higher education think it will earn them higher-paying jobs. Their primary motivation to pursue higher education was to earn titles like ‘doctor’, ‘the degree nurse’, and ‘the specialist nurse’. Other motivations for some participants include the impact of their higher education, which ranges from workplace promotion to family prestige. Conclusion: Ghanaian female graduate nursing students' motivation to pursue higher nursing education is threefold: personal gains, corporate gains, and family fame. Educational institutions need to assist these nurses with the requisite knowledge to excel in their areas of work, get the maximum benefit they expect from schooling, and make their families and communities proud as expected.
AB - Background: The nursing and midwifery professions are predominantly female. In Sub-saharan Africa, especially in Ghana, females have traditionally been perceived as homemakers who do not require higher education to play their roles. This phenomenon perpetuates gender inequality, underutilises talents, and denies women opportunities for personal and professional growth. Aim: This study explored the motivational factors influencing the uptake of higher nurse education among female nurses in a resource-constrained setting. Methods: An exploratory, descriptive qualitative approach was adopted with purposive sampling method to recruit 20 nurses pursuing a postgraduate programme in nursing from October to November 2022. Inductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. Result: Two main themes and six subthemes were developed from the data. Female graduate students believe the reasons to pursue higher nursing education are attributed to one's workplace, friends and family's demands. Participants pursuing higher education think it will earn them higher-paying jobs. Their primary motivation to pursue higher education was to earn titles like ‘doctor’, ‘the degree nurse’, and ‘the specialist nurse’. Other motivations for some participants include the impact of their higher education, which ranges from workplace promotion to family prestige. Conclusion: Ghanaian female graduate nursing students' motivation to pursue higher nursing education is threefold: personal gains, corporate gains, and family fame. Educational institutions need to assist these nurses with the requisite knowledge to excel in their areas of work, get the maximum benefit they expect from schooling, and make their families and communities proud as expected.
KW - Females
KW - Ghana
KW - Graduate students
KW - Higher nursing education
KW - Motivation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85215392948&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.nedt.2025.106580
DO - 10.1016/j.nedt.2025.106580
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85215392948
SN - 0260-6917
VL - 147
JO - Nurse Education Today
JF - Nurse Education Today
M1 - 106580
ER -