The effect of achievement motivation on learning agility of nursing students: The mediating effect of self-leadership

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate nursing students’ learning agility and confirm the mediating effect of self-leadership in the relationship between achievement motivation and learning agility. Methods: The study design was a descriptive survey design. The subjects were thirdand fourth-year nursing students attending three universities in one region. Data were collected from November 28, 2019, to May 25, 2020, and a total of 202 data were collected using the scale of achievement motivation, self-leadership, and learning agility. Data analysis included frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, and Pearson's correlation coefficient using SPSS 25.0 statistics 25.0 software. The mediating effect of self-leadership was analyzed through regression analysis and bootstrapping using process macro ver. 3.4.1. Results: Self-leadership’s partial mediating effect was confirmed in achievement motivation and learning agility. Achievement motivation was found to affect directly learning agility, with an indirect effect through self-leadership. Conclusion: The study results showed that nursing students could increase their learning agility through self-leadership improvement. Future research should focus on identifying the factors influencing nursing students’ learning agility and develop and apply programs to improve learning agility.