Learning Style and Leadership Style: Determinants of Instructional Strategies in Nursing Education

The problem of this study was to describe and compare the relationship of learning style and leadership style upon the selection of instructional strategies by nursing educators in associate and baccalaureate degree nursing programs. Data were collected using Kolb's Learning Style Inventory, Hersey and Blanchard's Leader Effectiveness and Adaptability Description, a researcher-developed Instructional Strategies Inventory, and the Personal Data Form. It was found that leadership style was highly correlated between the associate degree and baccalaureate degree faculty groups. More of the associate degree faculty members had basic leadership styles of Low Relationship/Low Task and High Task/Low Relationship. Most of the baccalaureate faculty members had Low Relationship/Low Task leadership styles. The following conclusions were developed: (a) Nursing faculty in associate and baccalaureate degree programs have similar learning and leadership styles; (b) nursing faculty tend to use the traditional instructional strategies such as lecture, discussion, and case studies at the same frequency of use? and (c) the selection of instructional strategies in nursing education may be affected by variables other than the instructor's learning and leadership styles. In view of the findings of this study, the following recommendations for further study appear to be warranted, (a) Further research should be conducted to determine the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of identified instructional strategies in nursing education, and (b) more research should be done to identify creativity in the selection of instructional strategies in nursing education. The following implications are suggested from an analysis of the data: (a) Although faculty characteristics are rarely a determining factor in the design of a nursing curriculum, they must be taken into account when selecting instructional strategies, and (b) the apparent lack of diversity in instructional strategies utilized in the classroom setting emphasizes the need for faculty to expand their knowledge base in this area