2019 Volume 39 Pages 165-173
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify perceptions of civility and incivility in the teaching-learning environment by conducting focus group interviews with undergraduate nursing students.
Methods: The study subjects were fourth-year students of 3 nursing colleges. From February 2016 until July 2017, 3 focus groups with 5 participants each were formed. Transcriptions from about 1 hour of semi-structured interviewing were analyzed through a thematic analysis using NVivo. In the interview guide developed by the researchers, civility was operationally defined as “scenes and circumstances where students are considered first as learners.” Incivility was defined as “scenes and circumstances where learning motivation has been reduced; for example, students have not been treated carefully or given poor respect.”
Results: The results of the qualitative analysis showed that civility consisted of the following 4 categories described by 11 sub-categories extracted from 28 codes: (1) preparation of the learning environment; (2) respect for intention and values; (3) sharing growth steps; and (4) expansion of relationships. Incivility consisted of 3 categories described by 11 sub-categories extracted from 36 codes: (1) negative behaviors; (2) behaviors with inconsistency; and (3) lack of competency.
Conclusion: Our findings suggested that the students perceived civility from the structure and process of the teaching-learning environment that prompted their own growth. They perceived incivility from situations that might cause discontinuation or interruption of the mutual relationship between learners and educators.
