Academic Incivility in Nursing Education: A Scoping Review

Incivility is a persistent challenge in nursing education with serious consequences for faculty well-being, student learning, and program climate. Research remains fragmented and inconsistently grounded in theory.

To map the extent, range, and nature of research on academic incivility in nursing education, identify key themes, and highlight gaps to inform future research and practice.

A scoping review guided by the Population-Concept-Context framework was conducted across PubMed, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, and Scopus (2000-2025). Studies included quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, and review articles addressing uncivil behaviors in academic and clinical settings.

Forty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. Academic incivility was multifactorial and bidirectional, with negative effects on faculty well-being, student learning, relationships, and program climate. Gaps included inconsistent measurement, limited theoretical grounding, and minimal intervention testing.

Findings underscore the need for theoretically informed, empirically tested strategies to foster civility and support healthy learning environments in nursing education.