Finding incentives for the retainment and graduation of indigenous students. Faculty of Nursing and Obstetrics. National University of Asuncion. 2020

Abstract

Interest in university academic training for members of indigenous peoples has gained momentum in recent decades. The objective was to analyze the influencing factors in the retainment and graduation of indigenous students from the Nursing and Midwifery careers of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery of the National University of Asunción. This is a phenomenological, ethnographic paradigm study. Accessible population: 13 indigenous students who are enrolled. Non-probabilistic sampling for convenience was ussed. Informed consent was requested from each indigenous student to participate in the research. A question guide was applied for the interview. Once the data collection was completed, the codes and categories were assigned, these were analyzed with the Atlas Ti statistic. The findings concern the favorable factors, the motivation to continue the career, family influences, the vocation of service to the community, as well as the support of authorities, colleagues and institutional efforts. Regarding the perceived barriers, they mentioned access to technological resources, economic conditions, academics, the limitation of the use of the native language in the university, which directly affects the understanding of classes and especially virtual ones. Ethics, Equity and Transparency (EET) represents a guarantee for the achievement of equitable higher education. It is concluded that the benefits indicated are personal motivation (confidence and positive self-perception), institutional support and as hindering economic factors, uprooting, the responsibility of motherhood, language, and its relationship with learning.