Development of the Applied Liberal Education Competences Scale

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Professional Development
• Healthcare Competency Assessment

Background:

• Traditional nursing education often focuses on technical skills and role functions.
• There is a need to assess broader applied liberal education competences in professional nursing practice.
• Existing instruments may not capture the cognitive and performance dimensions beyond technical proficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development of the Applied Liberal Education Competences Scale (ALECS).
• To report on the initial psychometric testing of the ALECS.
• To provide an instrument for measuring nurses' self-reported use of applied liberal education competences.

Main Methods:

• The ALECS was developed based on Stark and Lowther's (1988a) conceptual model.
• Content validity was established through an expert panel review.
• Construct validity, internal consistency reliability, and instrument refinement were conducted.

Main Results:

• The developed ALECS is a 67-item instrument.
• It comprises six subscales: leadership, contextual practice, professional development, analytic practice, reflective practice, and aesthetic practice.
• Initial psychometric testing indicated acceptable validity and reliability.

Conclusions:

• The ALECS effectively measures applied liberal education competences in professional nursing.
• The instrument provides insights into how nurses think and perform beyond technical skills.
• It can be utilized by educators and service personnel to enhance nursing practice and education.