Relationships of Self-Direction and Attitude toward Continuing Education in Community College Allied Health Programs

Continuing education is a vital component in health care because professionals operate in a complex discipline that is continuously evolving. Ongoing social, technological, and medical changes present many trials and challenges to professionals in health care (Cadorin, Suter, Dante, Williamson, Devetti, & Palese, 2012). Additionally, health care professionals who acknowledge continuing education as a lifelong exercise are well suited to remain well-informed of innovative developments (Cadorin et al., 2012; Evans, Gallatin, Taylor, & Brodnik, 2008; El-Gilany & Abusaad, 2013; Levett-Jones, 2005). In health care, self-directed learning can contribute to increased confidence, independence, inspiration, and growth of skills (O’Shea, 2003; Yuan et al., 2012). Individuals with the capability to be highly self-directed can utilize this to discern any level of personal weakness then work to rectify the deficiency (Avdal, 2013; Yuan et al., 2012).The study’s purpose was to explore relationships among self-directed learning and attitude toward continuing education among students participating in community college Allied Health programs. For this study, 113 students in Allied Health degree programs at a southeastern community college participated. Respondents completed Stockdale’s (2003) Personal Responsibility Orientation-Self Directed Learning Scale (PRO-SDLS), Blunt and Yang’s (2002) Revised Attitude toward Continuing Education Scale (RAACES), as well as answered two demographic questions (age and class rank).The results revealed that level of self-direction has a significant relationship between several factors and items related to attitude toward continuing education. One of the strongest findings was that participants with high levels of self-direction viewed adult education as a way to make better use of their lives. The information resulting from this study will enhance the current literature and allow for better understanding of self-directed learning principles and their relationship with attitude toward continuing education. Applying this information in Allied Health programs may have a substantial effect on how faculty facilitates self-directed learning principles in their area of study (El-Gilnay & Abusaad, 2013). Future recommendations for research comprise of a duplication of the study using a more diverse and increased sample size across multiple community colleges and conducting other studies that would examine introducing self-directed learning principles into Allied Health programs.