LIBERAL EDUCATION SKILLS IN THE FIELD OF NURSING (GENERAL, NON-TECHNICAL).
Contributors: University of Arizona.
Published: 1985
Number of pages: 247
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The primary purpose of the study was to identify liberal education skills necessary for competent, professional nursing practice and to compare baccalaureate and associate degree faculties' perceptions of the importance of liberal education skills and program emphasis on those skills. Further, the study sought to identify underlying factors of liberal education skills perceived by college nursing faculty to be required for competent, professional nursing practice. Finally, the study attempted to identify differences in baccalaureate and associate degree faculties' perceptions of the importance of liberal education skills and program emphasis place on those skills by public and private institutional membership and by National League for Nursing (NLN) geographic accrediting region assignment.

The study's survey approach could be classified as a quasi-experimental design. The study utilized a multistage, stratified sample of 432 baccalaureate and associate degree nursing faculty. Seventy-two baccalaureate and 72 associate degree nursing programs were randomly selected from the four NLN geographic regions. Each dean or director of selected programs was requested to select three nursing faculty "most knowledgeable of the nursing curriculum" to complete the instrument. Data for the study were collected by means of the "Liberal Education Skills Inventory for Nursing" (LESIN). Data analysis was accomplished through the use of descriptive statistics, principal factors analysis, and analysis of variance.

Major conclusions of the study were (1) nine of the ten LESIN subscales had mean faculty ratings suggesting high skill importance to competent, professional nursing practice; (2) one factor ("conceptual abilities") underlying faculty perceptions of liberal education skills importance was extracted; (3) there were statistically significant differences in baccalaureate and associate degree faculties' perceptions regarding skills importance on two of the LESIN subscales and regarding program emphasis on five of the subscales; (4) on each of the ten LESIN subscales, faculty from public and private institutions did not differ significantly on their perceptions of skills importance and did differ significantly on one subscale regarding program emphasis; and (5) the mean skill importance and program emphasis responses of faculty did not differ significantly on the ten LESIN subscales by NLN geographic accrediting region assignment. In addition, information regarding liberal education skills program evaluation measures or standards was reported.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-05, Section: B, page: 1510.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, 1985.

School code: 0009.