Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Nursing

Advisor

Janice Long

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic forced nursing education programs to change traditional face-to-face teaching to virtual education and simulated experiences. Therefore, research is needed to determine how this change affected nursing students’ academic performance and their performance on standardized exams. The purpose of this three-part study, guided by Knowles’s adult learning theory, was to determine if there was a difference in Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) students’ performance on: (a) Assessment Technology Institute (ATI) Comprehensive Predictor (CP) scores, (b) end of program scores, and for (c) CP scores for first generation students before the COVID-19 pandemic compared with nursing students’ scores during the pandemic. Ex post facto data collected from three semesters of ASN students before the COVID-19 pandemic and three semesters during the COVID-19 pandemic made up the sample used for analysis. Results revealed no significant difference in students’ CP scores between the two timeframes. A significant decrease was seen in students’ end of program scores during the pandemic compared to prepandemic. No significant difference was seen on the CP scores of first generation students during the two time periods; however, the first generation students scored significantly lower regardless of the time compared to non-first generation students. This research is important to nursing education as it may facilitate positive social change by raising awareness of the need to improve virtual learning strategies to improve program outcomes and to recognize first generation students as needing additional assistance compared to non-first generation students. Future research is needed on strategies for virtual learning and specifically for first generation students.

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