COMPARISON OF CRITICAL THINKING ABILITY OF GRADUATING BACCALAUREATE AND ASSOCIATE DEGREE NURSING STUDENTS.
Contributors: University of Alabama.
Published: 1984
Number of pages: 137
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purpose of the study was to determine whether or not there was a statistically significant difference in the critical thinking ability between students graduating at the associate and baccalaureate level of nursing education. Additionally, the researcher was interested in comparing the degree and direction of change in critical thinking ability of the two groups. The statistical hypothesis dealt with the ability of the two groups to think critically as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal. Personal characteristics of age, ability/achievement, and years of prior work experience were obtained to determine the degree of homogeneity of the groups. The sample consisted of 49 graduating associate and 33 graduating baccalaureate degree students from a school of nursing located in the Southeast. Statistical analysis of the data revealed that: (1) graduating baccalaureate and associate degree students did not differ significantly in terms of critical thinking ability (p < .05), (2) critical thinking ability did not differ significantly among the age groups, and (3) age and critical thinking correlation coefficient (r = .17) was not significant. From the findings of this study, the researcher concluded that baccalaureate curricular practices did not appear to significantly enhance the critical thinking ability of the graduates. However, the difference reflected in the mean scores between the groups indicated a slight gain in critical thinking ability for the baccalaureate group. The researcher recommended that: (1) baccalaureate nursing educators evaluate curricular practices for the purpose of enhancing critical thinking ability of the students, and (2) this study be replicated using essentially the same design, with a larger, more diverse sample.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-07, Section: B, page: 2103.

Thesis (ED.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA, 1984.

School code: 0004.