The Relationship Between Locus of Control and Self-Directed Learning Readiness Among Nursing Students

Self-directed learning is an important outcome of nursing education. at present self-directed learning activities in nursing education are emphasized and problem based learning approach is employed to encourage critical thinking, self-directed learning and synthesis of knowledge in nursing students. self directed learning is related to individual characteristic, such as locus of control. the purpose of the study was to investigate the relation between locus of control and self-directed learning readiness in nursing students. this is a descriptive study. the study was conducted with students from a schools of nursing in turkey which uses problem-based learning approach. the study included 166 nursing students studying at a school of nursing. data were collected with locus of control scale and self-directed learning readiness scale. there was a significant (p=.000), negative, weak (r= -.28) relation between locus of control and self-directed learning readiness. since the scores for locus of control accounted for 7% of the changes in self-directed learning readiness, further studies are needed to investigate other factors which affect self-directed learning.