The Relationship Between Self-Actualization and Caring Behavior in Nurse Educators

Open Access
- Author:
- Starcher, Pamela Lee
- Graduate Program:
- Nursing
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 27, 2006
- Committee Members:
- Carol A Smith, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Sharon Louise Falkenstern, Committee Member
Edgar Paul Yoder, Committee Member
Fred Michael Schied, Committee Member - Keywords:
- nursing
caring
nursing education
self-actualization - Abstract:
- Faculty caring behavior is considered fundamental to educating nurses who demonstrate caring in practice; however studies have found less-than-caring environments are common in nursing education. The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to increase understanding of factors that may alter caring behavior in nurse educators. Based on Watson’s (1985) caring, Nodding’s (1984) educational caring, and Maslow’s (1976) self-actualization theoretical models, it was hypothesized that a high level of self-actualization in nurse educators would positively correlate with their level of caring behavior. Subjects included 22 full-time female nurse educators and their students (N= 144) from 6 Associate Degree in Nursing programs in Pennsylvania. Faculty level of self-actualization was measured by Shostrom’s (1966/1974) Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) and their student-perceived caring behavior was measured by Duffy’s CAT-edu (2002). Demographic variables of participants (e.g. faculty: age, basic education, years of teaching and nursing experience; students: gender, semesters of study, GPA and expected grade) were also examined for relationships. Analysis using Pearson r correlation revealed a significant negative relationship (p=0.001) between the level of faculty self-actualization and the student-perceived faculty caring behavior, disproving the hypothesis. However, r2 was less than 10%, suggesting over 90% of the variation in perceived student caring was not explained by faculty level of self-actualization. It is postulated that the small, homogenous participant sample may explain the limited variance. Demographic correlations were not significant. Findings do not sufficiently clarify if self-actualization is or is not a significant factor associated with expressed caring behavior. Recommendations for future research include repeating this study on a more diverse, geographically distributed sample of multiple types of nursing programs. Self-actualization could be considered an ideal nurse educator goal, therefore if repeat studies confirm a negative relationship with caring behavior, the impact on nursing education and practice needs to be carefully explored. The importance of a caring environment in nursing education and practice makes it imperative that research in this area be continued.