Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Nursing

Supervisor

Orchard, Carole

2nd Supervisor

Finegan, Joan

3rd Supervisor

Laschinger, Heather

Abstract

Abstract

As a result of 2000 legislation changes regarding entry-to-practice for nurses, collaborative nursing education programs were formed in Ontario. These legislative changes required Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAATs) to find university partners to enter into collaborative arrangements in order to continue delivering nursing education, due to their inability to confer university baccalaureate degrees independently. Subsequently, 21 CAATs in Ontario merged with 13 university nursing programs and entered into an education partnership in order for their graduates to meet an entry-to-practice requirement of a university baccalaureate degree. These newly formed collaborative nursing education programs varied in delivery formats and structures. After more than 17 years of program collaboration, perceptions of intergroup collaboration within these education partnerships, as well as the best practices for maintaining collaboration, have not been fully studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of a theoretically derived model, linking contributory factors to collaboration within collaborative nursing education programs amongst full-time CAATs and university faculty groups. This study used structural equation modeling to examine the relationships between faculty members’ perceived group identity salience, agreeableness, intergroup conflict, and structural empowerment on their perceptions of faculty group collaboration. The results revealed a significant relationship between intergroup conflict and collaboration, as well as structural empowerment and collaboration. However, group identity salience was not related to intergroup conflict. Finally, the variables of agreeableness and structural empowerment did not have significant moderating effects in the model. Further research is required in order to further illuminate the antecedent contributory variables to group collaboration between university and college educator teams charged with implementing collaborative nursing education programs.

Keywords: Collaboration, Nursing Education, model testing, organizational structures, group conflict, conceptual framework

Download

Share

COinS