Date of Award
10-1-1987
Document Type
Practicum
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Keywords
achievement, continuing education, correlation, dependent variable, descriptive findings, faculty, hypothesis testing, independent variable, longitudinal studies, nclex-rn, nursing students, pearson correlation, professional achievement, research population, self-esteem, self-esteem index, senior students
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between levels of self-esteem of senior students in a school of nursing and a measure of professional achievement – the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). The hypothesis tested was that there would be a significant relationship between scores on the Self-Esteem Index (S.E.I.) and final scores achieved by seniors on the NCLEX-RN. Thirty senior students comprised the research population. The independent variable self-esteem, was quantified into four categories (negative, low, moderate, high), by using the S.E.I., and the dependent variable was operationalized as the score achieved on the NCLEX-RN. The Pearson Correlation statistic was used to identify the extent to which variations in self-esteem levels corresponded to variation in achievement. The null hypothesis was accepted, since the results of the investigation showed that there was no significant correlation between achievement and levels of self-esteem. However, descriptive findings demonstrated that sixty-eight percent of the students has a negative or low self-esteem, seven students (28%) had moderate self-esteem, and only one student (4%) had a high self-esteem level. It is recommended that (1) the study be replicated to confirm results, and be extended to include a longitudinal measure, (2) continuing education courses be provided to students and faculty regrading increasing women’s self-esteem, (3) lecture content integrate information concerning professional achievement and levels of high self-esteem, and (4) research efforts to be continued to identified variables that may be predictive of NCLEX-RN success.