Nursing faculty intention to use service learning as pedagogy in higher education

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that motivate nursing faculty to use service learning. The study was based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), which implies that the target behavior of intention to use service learning in higher education is influenced by the predictor variables of behavior beliefs (attitude), normative beliefs (peer influence), and control beliefs (confidence and resources). External variables were also considered (years of teaching experience, tenure status, and the type of curriculum). ^ Group interviews and a pilot test were conducted to create the instrument for the study, and Cronbach alpha were calculated for survey item reliability. The participants were full time undergraduate nursing faculty members ( n = 160) in the Southeastern United States who taught in universities with accredited nurse education programs. Demographic data as well as scores on scaled survey responses were used to evaluate the intention of nursing faculty to use service learning in their classes. ^ Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and path analysis were applied to the data. The correlation findings indicated that there were statistically significant relationships between behavior beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs and nursing faculty intention to use service learning. The path analysis also indicated that behavior beliefs and normative beliefs were significant, while control beliefs were not a strong influence on intention to use service learning. Normative beliefs showed the strongest direct influence. The use of a community based curriculum also had a positive influence on intention, and faculty with tenure status were more likely to have positive behavior beliefs (attitude) towards service learning. Finally, as teaching experience increased, positive attitudes towards the intention to use service learning decreased. Seventy-nine percent of the variation in the intention to use service learning was explained by the theory of planned behavior, the type of curriculum, teaching experience, and tenure status. These results will assist nursing administration and faculty to design strategies to facilitate the implementation of service learning pedagogy, as well as a community based curriculum which will help meet the 21st century goals set forth from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. ^

The role of spirituality in transformative learning

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the role of spirituality in Mezirow's (1978, 1990, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003) 10-phase process of transformative learning. This study used Mezirow's transformative learning theory as its theoretical framework. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed for 12 doctoral students and candidates who had a transformative learning experience and who identified themselves as being spiritual. Interview data were analyzed using inductive, deductive, and comparative analyses. Four themes emerged from the inductive analysis of the data: (a) the nature of spirituality, (b) the variety of emotions, (c) the influences of spirituality, and (d) the nature of personal changes. The theory's 10 phases were used as a guide in deductively analyzing data concerning the participants' experiences. The deductive analysis revealed that spirituality played a role in at least 7 of the 10 phases of transformative learning for each participant. Overall, from the participants' perspectives, the role of spirituality was that of a guide in influencing their cognition and behavior, and that of a supporter in influencing their emotions. The comparative analysis revealed that at least three of the four themes from the inductive analysis were reflected in each of the 10 phases of transformative learning used in the deductive analysis. Based on the findings from this study, the researcher proposed a modification of Mezirow's phases of transformative learning. An additional phase was identified: framing and naming the transformed perspective, and two phases were renamed. The findings from this study imply that given the importance of the role participants attributed to spirituality in their transformative learning in influencing their cognition, behavior, and emotions, the role of spirituality should be considered for inclusion in transformative learning theory. Recommendations for further research on the validation and replicability of the proposed modification to transformative learning theory are given.

The impact of a family home-learning program on levels of parental/caregiver efficacy

This study sought to determine if participation in a home education learning program would impact the perceived levels of parental self-efficacy of parents/caregivers who participate in the completion of home-learning assignments and increase their levels of home-learning involvement practices. Also, the study examined the relationship between the parental involvement practice of completing interactive home-learning assignments and the reading comprehension achievement of first grade students. A total of 146 students and their parents/caregivers representing a convenience sample of eight first grade classes participated in the study. Four classes (n=74) were selected as the experimental group and four classes (n=72) served as the control group. There were 72 girls in the sample and 74 boys and the median age was 6 years 6 months. The study employed a quasi-experimental research design utilizing eight existing first grade classes. It examined the effects of a home-learning support intervention program on the perceived efficacy levels of the participating parents/caregivers, as measured by the Parent Perceptions of Parent Efficacy Scale (Hoover-Dempsey, Bassler, & Brissie, 1992) administered on a pre/post basis. The amount and type of parent involvement in the completion of home assignments was determined by means of a locally developed instrument, the H.E.L.P. Parent Involvement Home-learning Scale, administered on a pre/post basis. Student achievement in reading comprehension was measured via the reading subtest of the Brigance, CIB-S pre and post. The elementary students and their parents/caregivers participated in an interactive home-learning intervention program for 12 weeks that required parent/caregiver assistance. Results revealed the experimental group of parents/caregivers had a significant increase in their levels of perceived self-efficacy, p<.001, from the pre to post, and also had significantly increased levels of parental involvement in seven home-learning activities, p<.001, than the control group parents/caregivers. The experimental group students demonstrated significantly higher reading levels than the control group students, p<.001. This study provided evidence that interactive home-learning activities improved the levels of parental self-efficacy and parental involvement in home-learning activities, and improved the reading comprehension of the experimental group in comparison to the control.

A Model of Culturally-Diverse Patterns of Communication for Meaningful Learning

Teachers who address culturally-diverse classrooms using their own cultural ‘communication modes’ promote ‘communication dysfunctions’ which diminish the classrooms’ production of meaningful learning. A proposed interaction model of culturally-diverse patterns of communication supplies ‘cultural congruency’ at all levels of communication between teachers and students. The Model proposes that teachers address the culturally-diverse classrooms in as many diverse communication modes as culturally-diverse are the students. The Model was created as a response to the unsatisfactory Meaningful Learning efficiency of a traditional one-cultured-teacher, teaching to a Multicultural classroom.

Learning Behind Bars: Exploring Prison Educators’ Facilitation of Inmates’ Self-directed Learning through Garrison’s Model

Formal education programs in prisons have had success in reducing recidivism, but the introduction of informal learning can have additional benefits and longer lasting effects. This paper addresses recidivism and its effects on inmates and society at large and how prison educators can facilitate self-directed learning in prisons through Garrison’s model.

An interview study of community college student perspectives on service -learning

Over the past two decades, the community college in the United States has boasted a leadership role in the movement to make education community-based and performance-oriented. This has led to an intensification in attempts to search for more innovative means to make education more experiential and relevant to students' lived experiences. ^ One such innovative program that holds promise to meet this challenge is service-learning. This paradigm attempts to relate the academic education in the classroom to community-based problems, which fits in neatly with the community-based characteristics of the community college. It promises to link ideas developed in the classroom and their practical application within the community through guided reflection. It is designed to enhance and enrich student learning of course material by combining citizenship, academic subjects, skills, and values. ^ Though many studies have been carried out in regard to the outcomes of service-learning through quantitative means, relatively few qualitative studies are available, and those available have primarily studied traditional students at four-year residential colleges or universities. Therefore, there is an urgent need to study non-traditional students' perspectives at the community college level. ^ The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the perspectives of five students at Broward Community College, Central Campus, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The following exploratory questions guided this study: (1) What elements constitute these students' perspectives? (2) What variables influence their perspectives? (3) What beliefs do these students hold about their service-learning experience which support or are contrary to their perspectives? ^ This ethnographic interview study was conducted over a period of twelve months and consisted of three interviews for each of the five participants. The analysis of the data was conducted following the stringent principles of ethnographic research which included constant comparative analysis. The interviews were tape recorded with the participants' permission, transcribed verbatim, and organized into categories for in-depth understanding. Furthermore, these categories were developed from the data collected and an organizational scheme for understanding and interpreting of these perspectives emerged. The researcher, as well, kept a reflective journal of the research process as part of the data set. ^ The results of this study show the need for a better grasp of the concepts of service-learning on the part of all involved with its implementation. In spite of this, all of the participants displayed gains to a greater or lesser degree in personal growth, academic skills, and citizenship skills. ^

The effects of jigsaw cooperative learning on motivation to learn English at Chung -Hwa Institute of Technology, Taiwan

The Ministry of Education (MOE) of the Republic of China in Taiwan considers English to be one of the keys to raising Taiwan's international competitiveness and requires students attending institutes of technology to receive instruction in English as a foreign language (EFL). This study focused on impacts of the use of cooperative learning as a teaching method on EFL learners. The setting was the English classes of Chung-Hwa Institute of Technology (CHIT). The subjects were 77 students from two classes, majoring in Business Administration. ^ The purpose of this study was to determine the differential effects (i.e., achievement in learning English, motivation orientation and intensity, and attitude concerning English language and culture) on students between the traditional Chinese teaching method and the Jigsaw cooperative learning method at CHIT. ^ The research design for the study was quasi-experimental and descriptive. This study utilized three survey instruments and final exam grades to investigate the effect of Jigsaw on the EFL students' competency in English, and on their attitudes about, and level of motivation toward learning English. The independent variable was the instructional method: one class utilized the Jigsaw approach to cooperative learning while the other utilized the traditional Chinese approach. The dependent variables were academic performance, motivation orientation toward English, motivation intensity toward learning English, and attitude toward learning of English and English culture as determined by final exam and questionnaire scores. The questionnaires and exam were administrated at the beginning and end of the semester. ^ Data analysis indicated that students learning cooperatively had higher final course grades and made more integrative statements on the measure of orientation toward learning English than students who learned using the traditional Chinese methods. Participants who learned using cooperative strategies had more positive attitudes about learning English connected with their desire to associate with English speakers and had more positive attitudes about the learning mechanism they experienced than those instructed though traditional Chinese learning strategies. There were no differences between the groups on the measure of motivation intensity. Recommendations were made to improve the use of the Jigsaw method of cooperative learning through both pedagogical and policy modifications. ^

Effects of real -time captioning and sign language interpreting on the learning of college students who are deaf or hard of hearing

College personnel are required to provide accommodations for students who are deaf and hard of hearing (D/HoH), but few empirical studies have been conducted on D/HoH students as they learn under the various accommodation conditions (sign language interpreting, SLI, real-time captioning, RTC, and both). Guided by the experiences of students who are D/HoH at Miami-Dade College (MDC) who requested RTC in addition to SLI as accommodations, the researcher adopted Merten’s transformative-emancipatory theoretical framework that values perceptions and voice of students who are D/HoH. A mixed methods design addressed two research questions: Did student learning differ for each accommodation? What did students experience while learning through accommodations? Participants included 30 students who were D/HoH (60% women). They represented MDC’s majority minority population: 10% White (non-Hispanic), 20% Black (non-Hispanic, including Haitian/Caribbean), 67% Hispanic, and 3% other. Hearing loss, ranged from severe-profound (70%) to mild-moderate (30%). All were able to communicate with American Sign Language: Learning was measured while students who were D/HoH viewed three lectures under three accommodation conditions (SLI, RTC, SLI+RTC). The learning measure was defined as the difference in pre- and post-test scores on tests of the content presented in the lectures. Using repeated measure ANOVA and ANCOVA, confounding variables of fluency in American Sign Language and literacy skills were treated as covariates. Perceptions were obtained through interviews and verbal protocol analysis that were signed, videotaped, transcribed, coded, and examined for common themes and metacognitive strategies. No statistically significant differences were found among the three accommodations on the learning measure. Students who were D/HoH expressed thoughts about five different aspects of their learning while they viewed lectures: (a) comprehending the information, (b) feeling a part of the classroom environment, (c) past experiences with an accommodation, (d) individual preferences for an accommodation, (e) suggestions for improving an accommodation. They exhibited three metacognitive strategies: (a) constructing knowledge, (b) monitoring comprehension, and (c) evaluating information. No patterns were found in the types of metacognitive strategies used for any particular accommodation. The researcher offers recommendations for flexible applications of the standard accommodations used with students who are D/HoH.

A study of the effects of a service-learning experience on student success at an urban community college

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a service-learning experience on student success as measured by class attendance, course completion, final course grades, and end-of-term evaluation data. Though many outcomes of service-learning experiences have been studied, including ethical values, self-esteem, student personal development, and career preparation, relatively few studies have been conducted on the effects of such experiences on academic achievement, and the studies that have been done have primarily studied students at traditional, four-year, residential universities. The study consisted of 286 students enrolled in six paired courses taught by five instructors at a community college in the Fall term 1996. One section of each pair (the control group) was taught using traditional subject matter and course materials and the other section of each pair (the treatment group) participated in a 20-hour required service- learning activity in addition to the regular course curriculum. The courses in the study included American History, Sociology, College Preparatory English, and Introduction to English Composition. The results of this study indicate that, overall, students who participated in a class in which service-learning was a requirement, achieved higher final course grades and reported greater satisfaction with the course, the instructor, the reading assignments, and the grading system, and the treatment section of one course pair had fewer absences. In addition, the faculty members reported that, in the treatment sections, class discussions were more stimulating, the sections seemed more vital in terms of student involvement, the students seemed more challenged academically, more motivated to learn, and seemed to exert more effort in the course.

An interview study of community college student perspectives on service-learning

Over the past two decades, the community college in the United States has boasted a leadership role in the movement to make education community-based and performance-oriented. This has led to an intensification in attempts to search for more innovative means to make education more experiential and relevant to students' lived experiences. One such innovative program that holds promise to meet this challenge is service- learning. This paradigm attempts to relate the academic education in the classroom to community-based problems, which fits in neatly with the community-based characteristics of the community college. It promises to link ideas developed in the classroom and their practical application within the community through guided reflection. It is designed to enhance and enrich student learning of course material by combining citizenship, academic subjects, skills, and values. Though many studies have been carried out in regard to the outcomes of service-learning through quantitative means, relatively few qualitative studies are available, and those available have primarily studied traditional students at four-year residential colleges or universities. Therefore, there is an urgent need to study non-traditional students' perspectives at the community college level. The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the perspectives of five students at Broward Community College, Central Campus, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The following exploratory questions guided this study: 1. What elements constitute these students' perspectives? 2. What variables influence their perspectives? 3. What beliefs do these students hold about their service-learning experience which support or are contrary to their perspectives? This ethnographic interview study was conducted over a period of twelve months and consisted of three interviews for each of the five participants. The analysis of the data was conducted following the stringent principles of ethnographic research which included constant comparative analysis. The interviews were tape recorded with the participants' permission, transcribed verbatim, and organized into categories for in-depth understanding. Furthermore, these categories were developed from the data collected and an organizational scheme for understanding and interpreting of these perspectives emerged. The researcher, as well, kept a reflective journal of the research process as part of the data set. The results of this study show the need for a better grasp of the concepts of service-learning on the part of all involved with its implementation. In spite of this, all of the participants displayed gains to a greater or lesser degree in personal growth, academic skills, and citizenship skills.

Nursing faculty intention to use service learning as pedagogy in higher education

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that motivate nursing faculty to use service learning. The study was based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), which implies that the target behavior of intention to use service learning in higher education is influenced by the predictor variables of behavior beliefs (attitude), normative beliefs (peer influence), and control beliefs (confidence and resources). External variables were also considered (years of teaching experience, tenure status, and the type of curriculum). Group interviews and a pilot test were conducted to create the instrument for the study, and Cronbach alpha were calculated for survey item reliability. The participants were full time undergraduate nursing faculty members (n=-160) in the Southeastern United States who taught in universities with accredited nurse education programs. Demographic data as well as scores on scaled survey responses were used to evaluate the intention of nursing faculty to use service learning in their classes. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and path analysis were applied to the data. The correlation findings indicated that there were statistically significant relationships between behavior beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs and nursing faculty intention to use service learning. The path analysis also indicated that behavior beliefs and normative beliefs were significant, while control beliefs were not a strong influence on intention to use service learning. Normative beliefs showed the strongest direct influence. The use of a community based curriculum also had a positive influence on intention, and faculty with tenure status were more likely to have positive behavior beliefs (attitude) towards service learning. Finally, as teaching experience increased, positive attitudes towards the intention to use service learning decreased. Seventy-nine percent of the variation in the intention to use service learning was explained by the theory of planned behavior, the type of curriculum, teaching experience, and tenure status. These results will assist nursing administration and faculty to design strategies to facilitate the implementation of service learning pedagogy, as well as a community based curriculum which will help meet the 21st century goals set forth from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Transformational learning-environments in the post-secondary classroom: through the experience of indigenous women

This study investigated the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of transformational learning, including the elements, attributes, factors, and catalysis of the transformational learning environment, as Indigenous women experienced them in the Indigenous Studies 3040H: The Meaning of Work in the Contemporary World (INDG 3040H) course at Trent University. Using a holistic model developed in connection with the Medicine Wheel an Indigenous epistemology is integrated into the study. Qualitative interviews were conducted with eight Indigenous women. The data collected from the interviews indicated that for Indigenous women, the transformational learning environment of the post-secondary classroom is heavily connected to the relationship students develop with themselves, their peers, and the faculty member alongside the content of the course.

Self-assessment of clinical nurse mentors as dimensions of professional development and the capability of developing ethical values among nursing students : A correlational research study

Date of Acceptance: 08/04/2015 The paper presents, in part, the results of a broader non-profit development project entitled “Advance level of knowledge for quality in clinical mentorship — professional ethics and continuously professional development”. The project was financed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia (contract no. 3211-11-000263, the number of project OP RCV_VS-11-14). The members of the development group of the project were: Brigita Skela-Savič (leader), Karmen Romih, Sanela Pivač, Katja Skinder Savić and Andreja Prebil. The research report for the entire project is available on the online bibliographic database COBIB.si, at the Faculty of Health Care Jesenice and at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia.

Self-assessment of clinical nurse mentors as dimensions of professional development and the capability of developing ethical values among nursing students : A correlational research study

Date of Acceptance: 08/04/2015 The paper presents, in part, the results of a broader non-profit development project entitled “Advance level of knowledge for quality in clinical mentorship — professional ethics and continuously professional development”. The project was financed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia (contract no. 3211-11-000263, the number of project OP RCV_VS-11-14). The members of the development group of the project were: Brigita Skela-Savič (leader), Karmen Romih, Sanela Pivač, Katja Skinder Savić and Andreja Prebil. The research report for the entire project is available on the online bibliographic database COBIB.si, at the Faculty of Health Care Jesenice and at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia.

Self-assessment of clinical nurse mentors as dimensions of professional development and the capability of developing ethical values among nursing students : A correlational research study

Date of Acceptance: 08/04/2015 The paper presents, in part, the results of a broader non-profit development project entitled “Advance level of knowledge for quality in clinical mentorship — professional ethics and continuously professional development”. The project was financed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia (contract no. 3211-11-000263, the number of project OP RCV_VS-11-14). The members of the development group of the project were: Brigita Skela-Savič (leader), Karmen Romih, Sanela Pivač, Katja Skinder Savić and Andreja Prebil. The research report for the entire project is available on the online bibliographic database COBIB.si, at the Faculty of Health Care Jesenice and at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia.