The development and validation of the On-the-job Learning Styles Questionnaire for the Nursing Profession.

AIM This paper is a report of a study to develop and test the psychometric properties of the On-the-job Learning Style Questionnaire for the Nursing Profession. BACKGROUND Although numerous questionnaires measuring learning styles have been developed, none are suitable for working environments. Existing instruments do not meet the requirements for use in workplace settings and tend to ignore the influence of different learning situations. METHOD The questionnaire was constructed using a situation-response design, measuring learning activities in different on-the-job learning situations. Content validity was ensured by basing the questionnaire on interview studies. The questionnaire was distributed to 912 Registered Nurses working in different departments of 13 general hospitals in the Netherlands at the end of 2005. FINDINGS The response rate was 41% (372 questionnaires). The internal factor structure of the questionnaire was partly based on the learning activities in which nurses participate and partly on the learning situation in which they are performed. The internal consistency was good. The situation-response design of the questionnaire demonstrated its added value. Construct validity was estimated using intercorrelations between the scales, and criterion validity was estimated based on the relationships of the scales with perceived professional competence. CONCLUSION The On-the-job Learning Styles Questionnaire for the Nursing Profession is well suited to describing nurses' learning styles in on-the-job settings and has satisfactory psychometric properties.

[1]  D. Kolb.  Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development , 1983 .

[2]  G. Furze,et al.  Continuing education in nursing: a review of the literature. , 1999, Journal of advanced nursing.

[3]  H. Kaiser.  An index of factorial simplicity , 1974 .

[4]  N. Endler,et al.  Sources of behavioral variance as measured by the S-R inventory of anxiousness. , 1966, Psychological bulletin.

[5]  E. Salas,et al.  Application of cognitive, skill-based, and affective theories of learning outcomes to new methods of training evaluation. , 1993 .

[6]  Klaas Sijtsma,et al.  Introduction to Nonparametric Item Response Theory , 2002 .

[7]  Sharon K. Parker,et al.  Job and work design : organizing work to promote well-being and effectiveness , 1998 .

[8]  Marjolein Berings.  On-the-job learning styles: Conceptualization and instrument development for the nursing profession , 2006 .

[9]  Carole A. Estabrooks,et al.  Sources of Practice Knowledge Among Nurses , 2005, Qualitative health research.

[10]  Rob F. Poell,et al.  Conceptualizing On-the-Job Learning Styles , 2005 .

[11]  R. Loo.  Evaluating Change and Stability in Learning Style Scores: a methodological concern , 1997 .

[12]  Continuing professional development: a review. , 2003, Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987).

[13]  Rob F. Poell,et al.  Organising Learning in Work Contexts , 2004 .

[14]  M. Apter,et al.  The development of the Motivational Style Profile , 1998 .

[15]  Christopher W. Allinson,et al.  The Cognitive Style Index: A Measure of Intuition‐Analysis For Organizational Research , 1996 .

[16]  Learning for organizational effectiveness: Philosophy of education and human resource development , 1998 .

[17]  M. Boekaerts.  Personality and the psychology of learning , 1996 .

[18]  J H Powell,et al.  The reflective practitioner in nursing. , 1989, Journal of advanced nursing.

[19]  E. O'Shea.  Self-directed learning in nurse education: a review of the literature. , 2003, Journal of advanced nursing.

[20]  C. Spielberger.  Notes and comments trait-state anxiety and motor behavior. , 1971, Journal of motor behavior.

[21]  M. Eraut,et al.  Informal learning in the workplace , 2004 .

[22]  Edith D. de Leeuw,et al.  Reducing missing data in surveys: an overview of methods , 2001 .

[23]  N. Coppens,et al.  Multiethnic experiences enhance nursing students' learning. , 1996, Journal of community health nursing.

[24]  S. Cassidy,et al.  Learning Styles: An overview of theories, models, and measures , 2004 .

[25]  Birgit Schyns,et al.  A new occupational self-efficacy scale and its relation to personality constructs and organizational variables , 2002 .

[26]  D. Allen,et al.  The Changing Shape of Nursing Practice: The Role of Nurses in the Hospital Division of Labour , 2001 .

[27]  R. W. Rogers,et al.  The Self-Efficacy Scale: Construction and Validation , 1982 .

[28]  L. Perry.  Continuing professional education: luxury or necessity? , 1995, Journal of advanced nursing.

[29]  Informal learning in the professions , 1994 .

[30]  Christopher W. Allinson,et al.  Cognitive Style and the Theory and Practice of Individual and Collective Learning in Organizations , 1998 .

[31]  P. Simons,et al.  Modeling Work-Related Learning on the Basis of Intentionality and Developmental Relatedness: A Noneducational Perspective , 2004 .

[32]  Beatrice van der Heijden,et al.  Individual career initiatives and their influence upon professional expertise development throughout the career , 2002 .

[33]  A. Bandura.  Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. , 1977, Psychological review.

[34]  D. Kolb,et al.  Learning Styles and Adaptive Flexibility , 2002 .

[35]  P. Oosterveld,et al.  Questionnaire design methods , 1996 .

[36]  K. Ecclestone,et al.  Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning , 2004 .

[37]  J. Shellman.  The effects of a reminiscence education program on baccalaureate nursing students' cultural self-efficacy in caring for elders. , 2007, Nurse education today.