Student self-direction in Nursing Education was explored in this study. Four institutions in the central and eastern regions of Scotland participated. The research participants consisted of cross-sectional year intakes of students undertaking their professional education through the Diploma route and those engaged in Degree level studies. Academic teachers and clinical mentors/preceptors also participated.
Instrumentation comprised semi-structured interview schedules designed for each of the subject groups and a self-rating questionnaire of 56 item Likert-type, five-point scale administered to the students. A total of 130 students completed the questionnaire, 85 of whom were also interviewed. The number of educators who were interviewed was 30.
Content analysis of the interview responses focused on the subjects’ conceptualisations of student self-direction, perceptions about the implementation techniques, supervision of the students and the factors influencing these.
Exploratory Factor analysis of the questionnaire responses allowed for extracting the different factor dimensions built into the questionnaire items. Cross-tabulation of the raw data with Two Group Independent T-Test and ANOVA were also produced based on the calculated factor scores for each student. These allowed for establishing how much of the total variance of the factor scores was accounted for by personal and course variables.
The findings from the interviews revealed varied interpretations of the concept. There was evidence to suggest that distinctive differences between the two groups of students were associated with the nature of educational programmes and stage of academic and professional progression. Peer interdependence and participation in peer study groups was more prevalent among the Undergraduates than among their Diploma counterparts. Institutional and statutory influences on student supervision emerged in the theoretical and practical settings and indicated constrained student empowerment by the clinical preceptors. The systems of academic supervision and facilitation also differed between the two programmes.
The factor analysis yielded 4 main factor dimensions of individuals’ perceptions of themselves in the self-directed learning situation and their self-concept of personal autonomy in other aspects of their lives. No association could be established between personal autonomy in the non-academic context and readiness to function in the self-directed, autonomous capacity in the academic context.
This study revealed a need for:
• a re-conceptualisation of student self-direction if the intention is to encourage greater standardisation in its implementation in all the higher academic institutions in Scotland involved in Nursing/Midwifery education.
• appropriate preparatory programmes for educators and students to ensure better insight and understanding of the related concepts and effective implementation of student self-direction.