Relationship between Jordanian Undergraduate Nursing Students' Perception of Empowerment and the Academic Satisfaction: Descriptive Study

Abstract

Background Nursing students' perception of empowerment has an important impact on their learning process and learning outcomes. Aim This study aimed to assess the relationship between undergraduate nursing students' perception of empowerment and their academic satisfaction in Jordan. Methodology A descriptive, correlation design was used in this study, 164 fourth-year nursing students were selected to participate by convenience sampling method. The universities with the largest number of students were selected according to region (north, middle, south), and sectors (3private and 2public). The data collection methods included are: an Arabic version of self-reported questionnaires, the Learner Empowerment Scale (LES) to assess nursing students' perception of empowerment, and The Undergraduate Nursing Students Academic Satisfaction Scale (UNSASS) to assess nursing student’s agreement with academic satisfaction. Results Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, 164 out of 184 students completed and returned the questionnaires with a response rate of 90%. Participants showed moderate perception of empowerment with a mean score is 79 out of (0-140) (SD=17.35). Pearson analysis showed a strong correlation between students' perception of empowerment and their academic satisfaction at all subscales: In-class teaching, clinical teaching, program design and delivery, and support and resources respectively as following: r (162) = +.37. P<0.01, r (162) = +.27, p<0.01, r (162) = .26, p<0.01, and r (162) = .30, p<0.01. Conclusion and Implications This is the first study conducted in Jordan that contributed to the body of literature on undergraduate nursing students' perception of empowerment and the relation of their satisfaction with learning environment. The results highlighted the essence of teaching-learning context and methods to empower the students. Thus, more efforts should focus on clinical training, clinical placement, and diversity of teaching strategies to match the educational requirement to reduce the theory-practice gap.