Factors associated with self-directed learning among undergraduate nursing students in Vietnam

Aim

This study purposed to determine nursing students' self-directed learning abilities and related factors.

Background

Self-directed learning is a significant and practical approach for nursing students in their lifelong learning.

Design

In this study, a descriptive cross-sectional study was used to assess the level of SDL undergraduate of 411 undergraduate nursing students from four academic years.

Methods

The Self-directed Learning Abilities and Related Factors Questionnaire was used to measure the Self-directed Learning Abilities of the Nursing Students. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data and a logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the factors influencing self-directed learning abilities.

Results

Of the 411 nursing students, most belonged to the female group. Moreover, most of the nursing students have permanent residence in rural areas. The average score of general self-directed learning abilities of nursing students was 3.88 ± 0.3. Only 33.8 % of the respondents had a high level (mean score ≥ 4) of self-directed learning abilities. There was a significant relationship between place of residence, grade obtained in previous level education, current grade point average, academic workload, assessment methods, learning resources and self-directed learning abilities (p<0.05).

Conclusions

The self-directed learning ability level was low in this nursing student sample. Therefore, this study may increase nursing educators' attention to designing appropriate strategies to improve students’ self-directed learning abilities.