What is the association between four sources of support for students and self-reported competency?

Citation

Behr A, Holland K, Johnson M, Lauder W, McKenna E, Porter MA, Rankin J, Roxburgh M, Topping KJ & Watson R (2007) What is the association between four sources of support for students and self-reported competency?. RCN annual international nursing research conference 2007. Symposium: National evaluation of fitness for practice curricula: Survey of student nurses’ and midwives’ competence, self-efficacy and support mechanisms, Dundee, Scotland, 01.05.2007-04.05.2007. http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/68738/confabstracts.pdf

Abstract
Support in its various forms has long been linked to effective learning. Considerable effort has been devoted to the description and definition of roles which are meant to support students in practice, most notable being the current PEF role. Peer mentoring has a familiar ring to it, as many nurses of pre-1992 curricula will remember being taught by senior students. A revisionist appreciation of the importance of peer mentoring is now emerging. Another source of support is family and friends. The aims of this element of the national review was 1) to identify if students placed different value on different sources of support; 2) to measure the relationship between different sources of support and the development of selfreported competency. The sample comprised a stratified random sample of student nurses in Scotland (N = 700). The study aimed to investigate what sources of support were most important to students; and to test if different sources of support led to different level of self-report competence. Support was operationalised by 4 single items on quality of support scored on a 10 point scale. Sources of support included support from mentors, university, peer and family and friends. Data reported will include descriptive and inferential (ANOVA/ANCOVA) statistical analysis. The paper will then explore the implications of these data for education and the allocation of resources to maximise support for students.