An investigation of the critical thinking abilities of nursing students in a selected baccalaureate school /
Critical thinking has been designated as an essential outcome of professional nursing education. Today's nurses must be able to deal with clients' complex and diverse health care needs. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the selected demographic variables of age, pre-nurs...
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
2002.
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| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=764785891&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | Critical thinking has been designated as an essential outcome of professional nursing education. Today's nurses must be able to deal with clients' complex and diverse health care needs. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the selected demographic variables of age, pre-nursing grade point average (GPA), and academic level had a relationship to critical thinking abilities and dispositions of baccalaureate nursing students. The California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI) were administered to 73 nursing students from 5 different academic levels. Analysis of data used descriptive and correlational statistics. An alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical tests. The sample's CCTST mean (15.78) scored slightly lower than the test manual's norm for college students. The CCTDI total and six of the seven subscales showed a slightly positive disposition for critical thinking. Participants were ambivalent with regard to truth-seeking. This study showed no significant relationship between critical thinking ability and age. Critical thinking skills did not correlate with critical thinking dispositions for the overall sample and four of the five academic levels; first semester seniors did demonstrate a significant relationship between the two instrument scores. Critical thinking did not increase as students progressed through the nursing program; no significant differences in abilities were noted across the five nursing academic levels. Student grade point average was significantly related to scores on the CCTST. Overall CCTDI scores were not significantly related to academic level, age, or GPA. However, some dispositional subscales correlated with selected moderator variables. For the total group of students, skills were significantly related to the subscales for truth-seeking and systematicity. Older students scored significantly higher in inquisitiveness. GPA was significantly related to the disposition of systematicity. Study findings have implications for investigating differences among nursing students related to critical thinking abilities and dispositions. Further investigation of the role of critical thinking in nursing is suggested. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Educational Human Resource Development". |
| Physical Description: | xii, 191 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 171-184). |