title: Effectiveness of ethics education as perceived by nursing students: development and testing of a novel assessment instrument.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The effectiveness of ethics education continues to be disputed. No studies exist on how nursing students perceive the effectiveness of nursing ethics education in Flanders, Belgium.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To develop a valid and reliable instrument, named the 'Students' Perceived Effectiveness of Ethics Education Scale' (SPEEES), to measure students' perceptions of the effectiveness of ethics education, and to conduct a pilot study in Flemish nursing students to investigate the perceived efficacy of nursing ethics education in Flanders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Content validity, comprehensibility and usability of the SPEEES were assessed. Reliability was assessed by means of a quantitative descriptive non-experimental pilot study.
  
  
  METHODS
  86 third-year baccalaureate nursing students of two purposefully selected university colleges answered the SPEEES.
  
  
  METHODS
  Formal approval was given by the ethics committee. Informed consent was obtained and anonymity was ensured for both colleges and their participating students.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The scale content validity index/Ave scores for the subscales were 1.00, 1.00 and 0.86. The comprehensibility and user-friendliness were favourable. Cronbach's alpha was 0.94 for general effectiveness, 0.89 for teaching methods and 0.85 for ethical content. Students perceived 'case study', 'lecture' and 'instructional dialogue' to be effective teaching methods and 'general ethical concepts' to contain effective content. 'Reflecting critically on their own values' was mentioned as the only ethical competence that, was promoted by the ethics courses. The study revealed rather large differences between both schools in students' perceptions of the contribution of ethics education to other ethical competences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study revealed that according to the students, ethics courses failed to meet some basic objectives of ethics education. Although the SPEEES proved to be a valid and reliable measure, the pilot study suggests that there is still space for improvement and a need for larger scale research. Additional insights will enable educators to improve current nursing ethics education.
authors.affiliation: Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium; University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium tine.vynckier@khleuven.be.
authors.forename: Tine
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vynckier
authors.affiliation: Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium; University Hospitals Leuven, BelgiumCatholic University of Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gastmans
authors.affiliation: Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium; University Hospitals Leuven, BelgiumCatholic University of Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cannaerts
authors.affiliation: Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bernadette Dierckx
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: de Casterlé
mesh_terms: D001530:Belgium; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards; D004993:Ethics, Nursing / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D010465:Perception; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Ethics education; nursing; pilot study; psychometric testing; students