Nurse students' perception of the academic learning environment in Tunisian institutes of nursing sciences: A multisite cross-sectional study

Relationship between academic success, distance education learning environments, and its related factors among medical sciences students: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Academic success is among the most important criteria for determining students' competence. Hence, one of the concerns of education system researchers has always been investigating its associated factors. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the relationship between academic success, distance education learning environments, and its related factors among Shahroud University of Medical Sciences students.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 208 medical sciences students who completed at least two online and two in-person academic semesters. Participants were selected through the convenience sampling method and filled out three questionnaires, including the demographic information form, the Academic Success Inventory for College Students, and the Distance Education Learning Environments Survey. Finally, the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential tests (t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression).

RESULTS

In this study, students reported moderate levels of academic success (107.81 ± 10.72). Moreover, they assessed their distance education learning environment as the positive points were more than the negative points (74.10 ± 14.89). Distance education learning environment (β = 0.233 and P < 0.001) and field satisfaction (β = 9.797 and P = 0.001) were also mentioned as factors related to students' academic success.

CONCLUSION

According to the present results, it is suggested to improve the learning environment of distance education and increase students' satisfaction to enhance their academic outcomes such as academic success.

Association of learning environment and self-directed learning ability among nursing undergraduates: a cross-sectional study using canonical correlation analysis

OBJECTIVES

This study explores the relationship between the perception of the learning environment and self-directed learning (SDL) ability among nursing undergraduates.

DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

A cross-sectional study was conducted in December 2020 with 1096 junior and senior undergraduate nursing students (aged 16-22) from Wannan Medical College in Anhui Province, China.

OUTCOME MEASURES

The Chinese version of the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure questionnaire and a validated Chinese version of college students' SDL ability scale were used to assess students' perceptions about their learning environment and their SDL ability. Canonical correlation analysis was performed to evaluate their correlation.

RESULTS

The total score for the learning environment was 120.60 (scoring rate: 60.30%), and the score for SDL ability was 89.25 (scoring rate: 63.75%). Analysis indicated that the first canonical correlation coefficient was 0.701 and the contribution rate was 94.26%. The perception of the learning environment was mainly determined by students' perception of learning (SPL) and academic self-perceptions (SASP), with SDL ability mainly determined by self-management ability and cooperative learning ability. SPL and SASP were positively correlated with self-management ability and cooperative learning ability. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that SPL, SASP, students' perceptions of atmosphere and students' social self-perceptions had a significant impact on SDL ability.

CONCLUSIONS

The SDL ability of nursing undergraduates was not high. SPL and SASP were positively correlated with self-management ability and cooperative learning ability. Nursing educators can improve students' SDL ability by changing their learning environment, using, for example, new student-centred teaching methods.