Nursing Students' Disposition toward Critical Thinking and its Relationship with their Academic Performance

Abstract

Introduction: In order to improve nurses' critical performance and the quality of nursing care, nursing education must not only provide nursing students with specialized knowledge, but also develop their critical thinking skills. For nurses and nursing students to be efficient, they must be capable of critical thinking. The present study aimed to examine nursing students' disposition toward critical thinking and its relationship with their academic performance. Methods: This was a descriptive correlational study conducted in 2014. The sample consisted of 120 nursing students from the Nursing Faculty of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Through convenience sampling, the researchers selected the subjects from among the first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year students in the second semester. The data collection instrument was a two-part questionnaire: part one consisted of questions related to demographics, and part two was Ricketts' Critical Thinking Disposition Questionnaire. With a minimum score of 33 and a maximum of 165. The students' academic performance was measured on the basis of their total average grades. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics in SPSS 16. Results: The results showed that the mean and standard deviation of the nursing students' disposition toward critical thinking was 116.4 ± 10.09. Furthermore, the results of Pearson's correlation test showed that there was no significant correlation between the scores of subjects' disposition toward critical thinking and their total average grades (P = 0.85, r = 0.02). In addition, there was no significant correlation in disposition toward critical thinking scores with age, gender and years of academic study (P > 0.05). Conclusions: With regards to the score, it can be concluded that the disposition of students to critical thinking was significant. Accordingly, and due to the disposition of students, it is required to include techniques and methods for improving this kind of thinking in their trainings, which is essential for providing quality care.

Critical Thinking Disposition in the First- and Last-Year Medical Students and its Association with Achievement Goal Orientation

“…According to the results of the current study, no significant difference was observed between male and female students in terms of the score of critical thinking disposition. Results of studies by Mousazadeh et al (31), and Haghshenas and Sajjadian (25), also confirmed the current study findings. These studies conducted on critical thinking disposition, also reported no significant difference between male and female students in this regard (5,31).…”

“…Results of studies by Mousazadeh et al (31), and Haghshenas and Sajjadian (25), also confirmed the current study findings. These studies conducted on critical thinking disposition, also reported no significant difference between male and female students in this regard (5,31). In addition, no significant association was observed between the total score of critical thinking disposition and students' age; the results were consistent with those of Gharib et al (28), although more disposition and use of critical thinking skills were expected by age and experience increase (28).…”

Effective Factors in Critical Thinking Disposition in Nursing Students

“…e American Nurses Association (1998), the National Nurses United (1992), and the Accreditation Commission of the National Nurses United (2002) also proposed learning it as an integral component of nursing education and required nursing instructors to teach it to nursing students [2]. In fact, nursing students should be trained to develop their critical spirit and research capabilities and equip themselves with critical thinking as a valuable tool in a way that their decision-making ability and performance are improved in complicated clinical circumstances after their graduation [10] In this regard, many universities around the world are looking for new and appropriate educational methods that can organize people and their educational system and lead to the expansion and improvement of clinical decision-making, problem solving, and continuous and self-centered learning in medical students. In order to address this concern, supporting critical thinking skills and investing in training and continuous assessment of changes in cognitive processes along with psychomotor and attitudinal domains in caring practices has become particularly important.…”

“…Nursing instructors are therefore required to broaden their knowledge about critical thinking disposition [12]. Although the research suggests a high score of critical thinking in undergraduate nursing students [10,13], low levels of critical thinking skills have been reported in literature [6,11,14]. e effects of individual factors on critical thinking skills have been also reported differently in literature.…”

“…e effects of individual factors on critical thinking skills have been also reported differently in literature. Some studies suggested insignificant relationships of the critical thinking ability with age and gender in nursing students [10,15,16], whereas other studies showed relationships between gender and critical thinking skills [5,17]. e effect of academic year on the tendency towards critical thinking has also been differently reported.…”