Psychometric Testing of the Greek Version of the Clinical Learning Environment-Teacher (CLES+T)

Abstract

Clinical practice is an important part of nursing education, and robust instruments are required to evaluate the effectiveness of the hospital setting as a learning environment. The study aim is the psychometric test of the Clinical Learning Environment+Teacher (CLES+T) scale-Greek version.: 463 students practicing in acute care hospitals participated in the study. The reliability of the instrument was estimated with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. The construct validity was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with Varimax rotation. Convergent validity was examined by measuring the bivariate correlations between the scale/subscales. Content, validity and semantic equivalence were examined through reviews by a panel of experts. The total scale showed high internal consistency (α=0.95). EFA was identical to the original scale, had eigen values larger than one and explained a total of 67.4% of the variance. The factor with the highest eigen value and the largest percentage of variance explained was “supervisory relationship”, with an original eigenvalue of 13.1 (6.8 after Varimax rotation) and an explanation of around 38% of the variance (or 20% after rotation). Convergent validity was examined by measuring the bivariate correlations between the scale and a question that measured the general satisfaction. The Greek version of the CLES+T is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to examine students’ perceptions of the clinical learning environment.

The Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and the Nurse Teacher Evaluation Scale: Turkish Version

“…In our study, the highest contribution to the total variance was achieved by the supervisory relationship factor (36%). Other studies presented similar results for the supervisory relationship (Bergjan & Hertel, ; Gustafsson, Blomberg, & Holmefur, ; Henriksen et al, ; Johansson et al, ; Lovric et al, ; Papastavrou et al, ; Saarikoski et al, ; Sun‐Hee et al, ; Vizcaya‐Moreno et al, ; Zvanut et al, ). Only in the Italian version, the strongest factor was the “pedagogical atmosphere” (Tomietto et al, ).…”

“…In this study, all correlations of coefficients of the items were between .48 and .85. Similarly, in Bergjan and Hertel (), Henriksen et al (), Lovric et al (), and Papastavrou et al () the coefficients of correlations of the items were .47 and .90, .37 and .74, .39 and .86, .38 and .71, respectively. In addition, in our study, all of the items of the scale were preserved because the Cronbach's alpha values did not increase if items were deleted.…”

“…In the original scale, the Cronbach's alpha coefficients of subscales are between .77 and .96 (Saarikoski et al, ). The versions of the CLES+T in other languages, the Cronbach's alpha levels were between .75 and .96 for Swedish version, .85 and .96 for Norwegian version, .80 and .96 for Italian version, .82 and .96 for German version, .82 and .93 for New Zealand version, .81 and .96 for Greek version, .77 and .96 for Crotian version, and .78 and .94 for Korean version (Bergjan & Hertel, ; Henriksen et al, ; Johansson et al, ; Lovric et al, ; Papastavrou et al, ; Sun‐Hee et al, ; Tomietto et al, ; Watson et al, ).…”

“…In the original scale, the Cronbach's alpha coefficients of subscales are between .77 and .96 (Saarikoski et al, 2008). (Bergjan & Hertel, 2013;Henriksen et al, 2012;Johansson et al, 2010;Lovric et al, 2016;Papastavrou et al, 2016;Sun-Hee et al, 2018;Tomietto et al, 2012;Watson et al, 2014).…”

“…Half of these hours must be spent in practical education. This type of training distribution is common for practically oriented professions, such as the nursing profession, and found in many parts of Europe (Lovric et al, 2016;Mueller, Mylonas, & Schumacher, 2018;Papastavrou, Dimitriadou, & Tsangari, 2016). It is very important to evaluate the quality and the environment of clinical education.…”