A Comparison of the Perceptions of Associate Degree Nursing Students Regarding the Teaching Effectiveness of Faculty Who Are Active/Inactive in Nursing Practice

The purpose of this study was to determine if the perceptions of associate degree nursing students regarding the teaching effectiveness of faculty were significantly different when their faculty were active or inactive in clinical nursing practice. A 28-item teacher effectiveness rating scale was utilized to measure teacher effectiveness. After the questionnaire was developed, a pilot study was conducted with faculty and nursing students in order to improve the questionnaire's clarity and validity.

After the pilot study was completed, a random sampling technique produced ten associate degree nursing faculty names representative of those who were actively involved in faculty practice and ten faculty names where were not active in faculty practice. A total of 20 faculty names were chosen. Students of these faculty were given the teacher effectiveness scale and a demographic questionnaire. Faculty were also asked to complete questionnaires ascertaining demographic information. A sample size of 50 student questionnaires from each category was then selected by use of a table of random numbers. Hypotheses were tested with t test for independent samples. Linear regression perceived was used to determine the effect of student and faculty demographic variables on the effectiveness of teachers who practiced and those who did not.

A relationship was found to exist between three variables (number of hours the faculty practiced, number of years teaching experience, and whether students liked or disliked their teacher) and the scores on the teacher effectiveness rating scale.

It was concluded that faculty practice positively affect the students' perceptions of teaching effectiveness. Therefore, it was recommended that administrators should assist faculty to continue their clinical practice as part of their job responsibilities.