Assessment of Attitude of Postgraduate Pediatric Nursing Students’ toward the Academic Integrity

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 B.sc. 201 2, Demonstrator at Faculty of Nursing ,British University in Egypt (BUE).

2 Prof. of Pediatric Nursing , Faculty of Nursing , Ain Shams University.

Abstract

The present study was a descriptive study that aimed to assess the attitude of postgraduate pediatric nursing students toward the academic integrity in their nursing learning experience. A convenient sample that consisted of 100 postgraduate pediatric nursing students enrolled in academic year (2016-2017) in both two semesters, 80 students enrolled in master program while 20 students enrolled in PhD program. Data were collected using a structured questionner sheet, in addition to Likert - type scale to assess the attitude of the studied students about academic integrity. The results of this study revealed that more than three quarters of the studies students were female, while less than half aged from 25 ≤ 30 years old. There was a statistical significance difference between PhD and master students as regards to their total attitude regarding academic integrity. It was concluded that the majority of the studied students had positive attitude toward the academic integrity meanwhile, there were many factors as peer pressure, limited time for study, difficulty of learning materials and large amount of study materials that affect academic integrity environment. It was recommended that providing further induction for postgraduate research students (PhD program) related to academic integrity policies and procedures.

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