A COMPARISON OF THE PERCEPTIONS OF NURSING DIPLOMA STUDENTS AND PRECEPTORS WITH RESPECT TO LEVELS OF STUDENTS' SELF-ESTEEM DURING THE PRE-GRADUATE CONSOLIDATION SEMESTER.
Contributors: Michigan State University.
Published: 1993
Number of pages: 163
Subjects: Education, Community College.; Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Social.
Description: The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether there were any perceptual changes in students' awareness of their self-esteem level as they experienced the pre-graduate work opportunity within the four month consolidation semester. The investigator focused on total self-esteem and its subcomponents of general self-esteem, social self-esteem, school-academic self-esteem and home, parents-family self-esteem.

The population was composed of volunteers from pre-graduate students of the nursing diploma program at Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology and nurse preceptors working with these students. The survey instruments were the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory: Adult Form and a Variables form, identifying demographic and socio-psychological constituents. Preceptor interviews were focused to address subcomponent areas. The Kuder-Richardson formula 21 was used to determine test-retest reliability and the t Test for Nonindependent Samples was employed as the appropriate test of significance.

Data analysis produced the following findings. Upon completion of the four month semester the majority of students experienced significant positive change in their perceived total self-esteem level and in each of the four self-esteem subcomponents. Age groupings showed the largest positive growth being experienced by the twenty-one to twenty-five year old group. Those who are parents, presented a slight decrease, and those living with a spouse or significant other, displayed an overall growth in perceived levels of self-esteem. The variables of previous full-time employment, present part-time employment, extra-curricular course participation, previous semester repeats or supplemental exams, were linked with clear growth in perceived self-esteem on the final inventories. Interviews with preceptors provided a melange of perspectives, not necessarily congruent with students' inventoried perceptions of their self-esteem.

Further research studies would provide for support and diversification of the findings of this work. Studies conducted in the same format which drew their population from other college and university programs would address the potential of data reliability. Cross-references with further variables would provide stratification and detail establishing definitive criteria for the effects of identified variables. Alterations in length of time covered by the study and/or placements of inventory completions, would also increase the data related to fluctuating of perceived self-esteem levels throughout the educational process.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-07, Section: A, page: 1804.

Thesis (PH.D.)--MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY, 1993.

School code: 0128.