RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS, SELECTED PROGRAM, FACULTY, AND STUDENT VARIABLES AND FACULTY'S PERCEIVED COMPETENCY OF GRADUATES IN ASSOCIATE DEGREE NURSING PROGRAMS.
Contributors: University of Texas at Austin.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 182
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Education.; Education, Curriculum and Instruction.
Description: This descriptive correlational study explored the relationship between conceptual frameworks, selected program, faculty and student variables and faculty's perceived competency of graduates in associate degree nursing (ADN) programs. The conceptual framework for this study, adapted from Tyler (1950), proposed that the subject (type of framework and faculty attitudes toward frameworks), setting (program and faculty), and student would be related to outcomes (perceived competency).

Through a preliminary survey, basic information regarding programs, faculty, students, and frameworks was obtained from ADN program administrators in a 15 southern state area. To answer the research questions, this information was used in conjunction with a questionnaire, developed by the researcher, which consisted of a demographic section, a Faculty Attitudes Scale (toward conceptual frameworks), and a Perceived Competency Scale, developed from the National League for Nursing (NLN) ADN competencies (1978). Data were obtained from 92 full-time ADN faculty who taught medical-surgical nursing concepts to second year students in 54 of 57 programs using one of the three major frameworks (Nursing Process, Needs, and Adaptation) identified in the preliminary survey.

Overall findings indicate that although faculty believed that there is a positive relationship between conceptual frameworks and graduate competency, faculty's perceived competency of their graduates did not correlate significantly with the type of framework or their attitude toward frameworks except for those using an Adaptation framework. There was a significant positive relationship between attitudes of faculty using Adaptation frameworks and their perceptions of their graduates' competency.

Neither NLN accreditation, academic setting, percent of nursing credits, nor clinical faculty/student ratio were related to faculty's perceived competency of graduates. Of the faculty variables hypothesized as related to perceived competency (age, basic preparation, educational level, clinical specialty, years as an RN, nursing service and teaching experience, and clinical practice), only age and basic preparation approached significance. Age tended to be negatively correlated. Of the student variables (age, percent married, having dependents, prior college work, and health-related experience), only age approached significance, tending toward a positive correlation.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-06, Section: B, page: 2344.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, 1989.

School code: 0227.