A description and comparison of RN -BSN nursing students' perceptions of student -teacher relationships in traditional and Internet distance education nursing courses

Traditionally, students' relationships with teachers have developed formally through face-to-face communication within the context of college campus settings. Currently, students enrolled in Internet Distance Education (IDE) nursing courses use various synchronous and asynchronous communication methods to develop student-teacher relationships outside the physical classroom. Little information is available in the professional literature regarding whether or not students in IDE nursing courses develop student-teacher relationships, given little or no face-to-face communication. In this study, RN-BSN students' perceptions of nursing student-teacher relationships were explored and perceptions of students in traditional classroom (TC) and IDE nursing courses were compared. Differences in the frequency of synchronous and asynchronous communication methods used by the two groups were also explored.;Barrett-Lennard's (1962, 1998) theory of student-centered teaching which proposes that the development of student-teacher relationships are characterized by perceptions of regard, unconditionality of regard, empathetic understanding, and congruence served as the framework for this study.;Data were collected from a nation-wide sample (N = 182) of RN-BSN students enrolled in TC (n = 109) and IDE nursing courses (n = 73). Data collection methods included both print and Internet web-based versions of the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory (BLRI).;Data analyses revealed no significant differences between RN-BSN students in TC nursing courses and those in IDE nursing courses on the four BLRI subscales. In general, both groups of RN-BSN students had equally positive perceptions of the student teacher relationship (MTC = 273.7; MIDE = 272.6; where the possible range = 64 to 384). BLRI scores did not differ between male and female students, those in private or public colleges, or among students of different racial backgrounds. There were statistically significant differences between the groups on the type and frequency of several communication methods used with faculty.;Findings of this study suggest that student-teacher relationships in Internet distance education (IDE) nursing courses are comparable to those relationships in traditional classroom (TC) settings. Implications for nursing are presented, along with discussion of advantages and disadvantages of web-based data collection methods.