Self-directed and other-directed continuing education: a study of nurses' participation.

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In 1974, a survey was conducted with registered nurses employed in selected general hospitals in the Greater Vancouver Area, British Columbia, Canada. The purposes of the study were to describe and analyze (a) the extent of participation by nurses in continuing learning activities; (b) their reasons for participating; (c) their attitudes toward continuing nursing education; and (d) their socioeconomic characteristics. The study investigated not only nurses' involvement in conventional forms of educational programs such as courses, workshops, and conferences (other-directed learning activities), but also their participation in self-planned and self-managed learning situations such as reading and audio-visual resource materials (self-directed learning activities). The findings showed that all nurses participate in some form of continuous learning. They engage in self-directed kinds of learning activities more than in group-oriented programs which have been planned and managed by an instructor. The nurses were found to have different and identifiable reasons for furthering their education and their attitudes toward continuing nursing education were moderately to highly favorable. Finally, it was established that nurses' motives, attitudes, and certain socioeconomic characteristics influenced their level of participation in self-directed and other-directed learning activities.