Background: As student nurses are in training to assume responsibilities as professional nurses, nurturing their affective dispositions toward critical thinking can reinforce the critical thinking skills necessary to make professional judgments and enhance care quality. Purpose: Explore affective dispositions toward critical thinking and the influences of such on college-level nursing students. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional research design on a convenience sample that comprised students in their freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years (n=301, 243, 168, 190). Results: The overall critical thinking score was found to be above the norm (M=283.78, SD=24.74), with the highest average scores earned on the inquisitiveness subscale (M=47.61, SD=5.85). Juniors obtained higher scores than either freshmen or seniors. Affective dispositions were significantly associated with age (r=.12, p<.001) and years of nursing experience (r=.11, p=.02). Conclusions/Implications for Practice: Findings provide information to understand affective disposition toward critical thinking in nursing students and can serve as a reference in efforts to improve students' critical thinking skills.
Background: As student nurses are in training to assume responsibilities as professional nurses, nurturing their affective dispositions toward critical thinking can reinforce the critical thinking skills necessary to make professional judgments and enhance care quality. Purpose: Explore affective dispositions toward critical thinking and the influences of such on college-level nursing students. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional research design on a convenience sample that comprised students in their freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years (n=301, 243, 168, 190). Results: The overall critical thinking score was found to be above the norm (M=283.78, SD=24.74), with the highest average scores earned on the inquisitiveness subscale (M=47.61, SD=5.85). Juniors obtained higher scores than either freshmen or seniors. Affective dispositions were significantly associated with age (r=.12, p<.001) and years of nursing experience (r=.11, p=.02). Conclusions/Implications for Practice: Findings provide information to understand affective disposition toward critical thinking in nursing students and can serve as a reference in efforts to improve students' critical thinking skills.