ROLE STRAIN IN THE NURSE EDUCATOR'S FIRST TEACHING POSITION.
Contributors: Temple University.
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 174
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Nurse educators in academe frequently assume both the traditional professorial role and the role of clinical instructor. Concurrently, demands are placed on nursing faculty to obtain a doctorate. Because of expectations, the potential for role strain among faculty new to teaching is high.

This study assessed the role strain experienced by 31 novice nurse educators in their first year of teaching. In addition, the perceptions of 40 administrators of nursing programs regarding role strain in novice faculty were explored.

Novices completed a mail questionnaire at the end of the fall and spring semesters. The questionnaire utilized the Job Related Tension index (JRT) developed (Kahn, et al., 1964) to measure strain in the workplace, and researcher designed scales and questions to assess strain from role responsibilities. The administrative questionnaire, also researcher designed, was completed at the end of the academic year.

T-tests, Pearson correlations, or ANOVA assessed hypotheses of relationships between JRT scores and advising, classroom, clinical and committee responsibilities, and demographic variables. As predicted, novices with high role strain scores on the JRT had high role strain scores on scales measuring advising, clinical, classroom, and committee responsibilities, and were less likely to plan on remaining in academe.

Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed novices were frequently overburdened by the quantity of demands placed on them in both semesters. By the end of the academic year, the demands of the faculty role were interfering with almost half of all novices' family lives. Administrators were aware of novices' high role strain and anticipated even higher strain scores then novices reported.

The responsibility contributing the greatest amount of role strain in the fall was advising. However, delimiting lecture content, writing examination questions, and evaluating students' clinical performances were the top stress items throughout the year. Also, role strain in the fall was significantly lower for faculty above the age of 39, those with formal teacher preparation, and those teaching in their area of preference. No relationship was found between role strain and school size, family size, or teaching in one's specialty area.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-11, Section: B, page: 4757.

Thesis (ED.D.)--TEMPLE UNIVERSITY, 1988.

School code: 0225.