The Mediating Effect of Self-Regulated Learning on the Relationships Among Emotional Intelligence, Collaboration, and Clinical Performance in Korean Nursing Students.

Abstract

Clinical performance is an important competence for nursing students to achieve. However, little is known about the degree to which self-regulated learning mediates the relationships among emotional intelligence, collaboration, and clinical performance in nursing students. This study was designed to investigate the mediating effect of self-regulated learning on clinical performance. A cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational design was used, and a convenience sample of 302 nursing students in Years 3 and 4 of a bachelor's degree program were recruited as participants from five universities in South Korea. Information on participant characteristics, emotional intelligence, collaboration, self-regulated learning, and clinical performance was collected from the participants using self-reported questionnaires from September to October 2019. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the research model. Emotional intelligence, collaboration, and self-regulated learning were found to be statistically significantly related to clinical performance. Moreover, self-regulated learning was identified as a full mediator of the relationship between emotional intelligence and clinical performance (accounting for 62.0% of the variance) and a partial mediator of the influence of collaboration on clinical performance (accounting for 25.4% of the variance). Nursing educators should encourage self-regulated learning among their students and provide a collaborative learning environment to enhance their students' clinical performance.