Quality of Nursing Doctoral Education in United States of America, Korea, and Thailand

Purpose:

Major aims of the three country study were to:  examine the quality of nursing doctoral education (QNDE) from the perspectives of faculty and students/graduates, and identify domains of the QNDE that influence the QNDE.

Methods:

A total of 1,034 faculty, and students/graduates participated in the cross sectional on-line survey and they were from a total of 46 nursing schools from research intensive universities in these three countries.  Country specific total numbers were: 46 nursing schools (29 from the United States of America (USA), 14 from Korea; and three from Thailand); 253 faculty (179 from USA; 48 from Korea; and 26 from Thailand) and 781 students/graduates (472 from USA, 139 from Korea, and 170 from Thailand).

Results:

Program and faculty domains were identified as most important (USA), whereas program and resource were most important (Korea). A majority of the Thai participants rated all four domains as good, as well as the quality and the intellectual milieu of their doctoral programs. (Thailand). A higher ratio of doctoral to non-doctoral students was significantly associated with higher quality (Korea).  Supportive environment for students’ learning, and faculty mentorship and assistance to students in understanding the value of programs of research and scholarship were significantly associated with quality. Percentage of faculty member with research grants was significant predictors for all domains of QNDE and time to degree was significant in explaining overall quality (USA).

Conclusion:

Overall quality of doctoral education in these three countries was perceived as good, and the program, faculty and resource domains were identified as important.  Countries need to pay closer attention to the factors included in these three domains as they influence the QNDE.