Changes in student nurses' approaches to studying

Abstract

This research identified the approaches to studying preferred by student nurses, determined whether these changed during the Diploma of Higher Education in Nursing (DipHE Nursing), and which approaches to studying were associated with greater academic achievement. Two cohorts of student nurses were sampled. Cohort 1 (n=40) completed the 44-item Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory RASI (Tait and Entwistle, 1996) at the end of the course and was interviewed. Cohort 2 (n=76) completed the RASI twice, once at the beginning of the course and again following the first year. In keeping with research reported elsewhere (Swannell, 1992; Richardson, 1995; Devlin, 1996; Solomonides, 1996), an association between age and preference for the deep approach to studying was observed. It was also found that student nurses changed their approaches to studying during the course to favour the deep approach. This occurred as the theory became relevant to their concepts of nursing. As those students who preferred the deep approach attained higher assessment grades than those who preferred the surface approach, the paper recommends strategies to encourage the deep approach to studying from the outset of the course.