The validity and reliability of the self-directed learning instrument (SDLI) in mainland Chinese nursing students

BMC Medical Education

Yan Hu¹  Hong-lin Chen²  Wang-qin Shen² 

[1] Professor in Nursing, School of Nursing, Fudan university, Shanghai, PR China;Principal Lecturer in Nursing, School of Nursing, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, PR China

关键词: Reliability;    Validity;    Scale;    Nursing students;    Self-directed learning;   

Others  :  866700
DOI  :  10.1186/1472-6920-14-108

 received in 2013-09-17, accepted in 2014-05-08,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Self-directed learning is crucial to the professional development of nursing students, and which enables them to expand the knowledge and enhance the quality of their practice. A validated self-directed learning instrument is important not only in assessing the individual’s self-directed learning level, but also in evaluating the effectiveness of teaching or learning methods. The aim of this study is to evaluate the validity and reliability of the SDLI in mainland Chinese nursing students.

Methods

A cross-sectional design with convenience sampling was used to recruit participants from three nursing schools. The mainland Chinese version of SDLI was tested with respect to validity and reliability in 1,499 nursing students, and another 30 nursing students were invited to evaluate the test-retest reliability of the scale in 7 days interval.

Results

Explorary factor analysis identified a four-factor structure, accounting for 56.101% of the total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis showed a good overall fit of this four-factor model. Convergent validity was supported by the highly positive Pearson’s correlation between SDLI score and SRSSDL score (r = .876, p = .000). Cronbach’s alpha for internal consistency of overall scale was .916, and 4 dimensions were between .755-.825.The test-retest reliability of overall scale was .850, and 4 dimensions were between .708-.821. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of overall scale was .916, and 4 dimensions were .822-.889.

Conclusions

This study indicates that the SDLI is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing self-directed learning in mainland Chinese nursing students. Nurse educators could use such knowledge to develop their roles and plan to support nursing students in becoming self-directed learners and lifelong learner.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Shen et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Tracy L, Levett J: Self-directed learning: implications and limitations for undergraduate nursing education. Nurse Educ Today 2005, 25:363-368.
• [2]Jennings SF: Personal development plans and self-directed learning for health care professionals: are they evidence based? Postgrad Med J 2007, 83:518-524.
• [3]Fry J: Interactive relationship between inquisitiveness and student control of instruction. J Educ Psychology 1972, 63:459-465.
• [4]Rosenblum S, Darkenwald G: Effects of adult learner participation in course planning on achievement and satisfaction. Adult Educ Quarterly 1983, 33:147-153.
• [5]Geis G: Student participation in instruction: student choice. J Higher Educ 1976, 47:249-273.
• [6]Smedly A: The self-directed learning readiness of first year bachelor of nursing students. J Res Nurs 2007, 12:373.
• [7]Hinchliff S: The practitioner as teacher. 3rd edition. London, UK: Elsevier; 2004.
• [8]Knowles M: Self-Directed learning: a Guide for Learners and Teachers. New York: Association Press; 1975.
• [9]Abd-El-Fattah SM: Garrison’s model of self-directed learning: preliminary validation and relationship to academic achievement. Span J Psychol 2010, 13(2):586-596.
• [10]Cheng SF, Kuo CL, Lin KC, Jane LH: Development and preliminary testing of a self-rating instrument to measure self-directed learning ability of nursing students. Int J Nurs Stud 2010, 47(9):1152-1158.
• [11]Williamson SN: Development of a self-rating scale of self-directed learning. Nurse Res 2007, 14(2):66-83.
• [12]Adelaida Z: Review: Self-Rating Scale of Self-Directed Learning (SRSSDL): preliminary results from the Italian validation process. J Res Nurs 2010, 16(4):375-376.
• [13]Shen WQ, Yan H: The reliability and validity of self-rating scale for self-directedness in learning (in Chinese). Chinese J Nurs 2011, 46(12):1211-1213.
• [14]Cadorin L, Bortoluzzi G, Palese A: The Self-Rating Scale of Self-Directed Learning (SRSSDL): a factor analysis. Nurs Educ Today 2013, 33:1511-1516.
• [15]Cadorin L, Suter N, Dante A, Williamson SN, Devetti A, Palese A: Self-directed learning competence assessment within different healthcare professionals and amongst students in Italy. Nurse Educ Pract 2013, 12:153-158.
• [16]Cohen J: The statistical power of abnormal-social psychological research: a review. J Abnorm Soc Psychol 1962, 65:145-153.
• [17]Si T, Shu L, Su YA, Tian CH, Yan J, Cheng J, Li XN, Liu Q, Ma YT, Zhang WH, Zhang HY: The Chinese version of the Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP): validity and reliability. Psychiatry Res 2011, 185:275-279.
• [18]Fabrigar LR, Wegener DT, MacCallum RC, Strahan EJ: Evaluating the use of exploratory factor analysis in psychological research. Psychos methods 1999, 4:272-299.
• [19]Spicer J: Making sense of multivariate data analysis. London: Sage; 2005.
• [20]Cox EO, Green KE, Seo H, Inaba M, Quillen AA: Coping with late-life challenges: development and validation of the care-receiver efficacy scale. Gerontologist 2006, 46:640-649.
• [21]Lopez FG, Rice KG: Preliminary development and validation of a measure of relationship authenticity. J Couns Psychol 2006, 53:362-371.
• [22]Polit DF, Beck CT: Essentials of Nursing Research: Methods, Appraisal, and Utilization. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2006.
• [23]de Vet HCW, Terwee CB, Knol DL, Bouter LM: When to use agreement versus reliability measures. J Clin Epidemiol 2006, 59:1033-1039.
• [24]Lin Y-H, Wang LS: A Chinese version of the revised nursed professional values scale: reliability and validity assessment. Nurse Educ Today 2010, 30:492-498.
• [25]Polit DF, Beck CT: Essentials of nursing research: methods, appraisals, and utilization. Philadelphia: Lippincott; 2004.