Predictors of Academic Ethics among Nursing Faculty Students in Iran: a Cross-Sectional Correlational Study
摘要
Universities should take a serious role in educating of students and provide the minimum ethical education that is necessary for students. Factors such as professional ethics and educational justice of teachers can affect on students’ academic ethics. This study aimed to assess predictors of academic ethics among nursing and midwifery faculty students. This study was cross-sectional correlational research. The research community of this research was all the students of the nursing and midwifery faculty in Ardabil city, northwest of Iran. Using stratified sampling methods, 196 students were enrolled in the study. Four questionnaires on demographic characteristics, academic ethics, professional ethics and educational justice were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s r correlation coefficient, and multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis were applied using SPSS 15.0. The mean of academic ethics score was 106.17 (SD = 5.23) with possible range of 35–175. There was significant relationship between academic ethics and marital status (p = 0.001), education degree (p = 0.001), interesting in the field of study (p = 0.001), age (p = 0.003) and variables of professional ethics (p < 0.001) and educational justice (p < 0.001) in univariate analysis. All these variables also were the significant predictors of academic ethics in multivariate analysis (professional ethics (β = 0.371, p < 0.001), educational justice (β = 0. 185, p < 0.001), marital status (β = 0.125, p = 0.003), education degree (β = 0.123, p < 0.001), interesting in field of study (β = 0.174, p = 0.012), and age (β = 0.104, p = 0.006). Also, teachers’ professional ethics was the best predictor of students’ academic ethics. The academic ethics of students was most related to the teacher’s professional ethics. Therefore, interventions that promote professional ethics of teachers may be most beneficial in improving academic ethics among faculty students. This research suggests a localized perspective on a variable that is rarely assessed within the Iranian higher education landscape. It introduces the variables that influence students’ academic ethics in higher education.