Date of Award
Spring 2015
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Frenn, Marilyn D.
Second Advisor
Bobay, Kathleen L.
Third Advisor
Schweizer, Heidi
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to: (1) examine psychometric properties of the Willingness to Adopt Inclusive Teaching Strategies (ITSinNE) instrument and (2) measure factors influencing a nurse educator's willingness to adopt inclusive teaching strategies based in universal design for instruction (UDI). Universal design for instruction (UDI) is one approach to facilitate multiple ways of learning and evaluation in various learning environments for all learners; however, it is not well known or researched in nursing education. Diffusion of innovation theory (Rogers, 2003) and universal design for instruction (McGuire & Scott, 2006) provided the theoretical framework for the study. A cross-sectional design was used to measure educators' willingness to adopt inclusive teaching strategies in nursing educational settings. A total of 311 nurse educators were recruited from professional nursing organization electronic mailing lists and conferences. The ITSinNE (55-items) consisted of four domains: Previous Teaching Strategies, Knowledge of Inclusive Teaching Strategies, Social System Support for Inclusive Teaching Strategies, and Willingness to Adopt Inclusive Teaching Strategies in Nursing Education. Cronbach's alphas for almost all of the domain subscales were .7 or greater. The confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated adequate model fit on most indices (exogenous model: c2 = 0.00; RMSEA = .08; GFI = .96; TLI = .95; WRWR = 1.64; endogenous model: c2 = 0.00; RMSEA = .18; GFI = .89; TLI = .87; WRWR = 2.64). When the endogenous model domains were all freestanding, model fit indexes improved (c2 = 0.00; RMSEA = .098; GFI = .97; TLI = .96; WRWR = 1.24). The model as a whole explained 44.8% (R2 = .448) of the variance in WillAdITS. None of the characteristics of a nurse educator contributed to the model, except for years of teaching (B =.-.008, p < .001) Reliability and validity estimates support the continued development of an instrument to examine nurse educator's knowledge, support, and willingness to adopt inclusive teaching strategies. This will enable intervention research to enhance professional development fostering access to content and environments for all learners.