NURSING STUDENT AND FACULTY PERCEPTIONS OF CLINICAL POST-CONFERENCE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS.
Contributors: Loyola University of Chicago.
Published: 1996
Number of pages: 170
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Education.
Description: Clinical post-conference is an integral component of the required laboratory hours in undergraduate baccalaureate nursing education. Empirical evidence supporting this practice for process or outcome learning gains is nearly non-existent. This study describes and differentiates clinical post-conference learning environments as perceived by undergraduate nursing students and faculties in three schools of nursing in the midwest.

With theoretical support and comprehensive review of the literature, the "Clinical Post-Conference Learning Environment Survey" was constructed for this investigation and subsequently administered to 500 study participants. Six components of the learning environment are measured in two forms of the instrument; an actual scale and an importance scale. The psychometric properties of the tool include well established content validity and strong estimates of reliability.

Both undergraduate nursing students and faculty were found to perceive significant differences between the actual components of the learning environment and the correlated ratings of the importance of these components. Faculty perceived a significantly greater amount of teacher support, task orientation, and innovation in the post-conference learning environment than undergraduate students. No differences were noted between faculty and students regarding the importance of the learning environment components. Junior and senior nursing students differed significantly in their perceptions of the actual learning environment components, excepting innovation. No differences were noted between junior and senior students regarding the importance of the learning environment components. The three participant schools were found to have significantly different perceptions regarding three of the learning environment components: innovation, task orientation, and order and organization.

Faculty were also surveyed regarding descriptive aspects of post-conferencing, including the frequency, duration, and type of learning activities typically used. Differences between the participant schools were noted, with discussion of clinical experience found to be the most frequently used post-conference activity.

This study presents the first instrument developed for the measurement of clinical post-conference learning environments. The congruence and discrepancy among and between learning groups' perceptions carry implications for educational practices in this setting. Subsequent investigations utilizing this tool may be able to link the perceived learning environment to valued cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning outcomes.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-12, Section: B, page: 6672.

Thesis (PH.D.)--LOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, 1996.

School code: 0112.