Readiness for Self-Directed Learning Among Students of Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program of Selected Colleges in Kathmandu, Nepal

Self-Directed Learning (SDL) is a process in which the learner takes self-initiation for assessing own learning needs and work accordingly with the help of available resources for achievement of required learning, The objective of this study is to identify the readiness for self-directed learning among the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among BSN students of Yeti Health Science Academy and Kantipur Academy of Health Science, Kathmandu, Nepal. Complete enumerative sampling technique was used in this study where 107 students were involved. Questionnaire method with SDL scale was used for data collection. Most of the respondents 74(69.2%) had high level of readiness for self-directed learning and 33(30.8%) of respondents had low level of readiness for self-directed learning. The association between academic year with the level of readiness for self-directed learning were statistically significant (p=0.045) whereas the association between other variables (age, ethnicity, religion, marital status, family type and residence) with the level of readiness for self-directed learning were statistically insignificant (p>0.05).It is concluded that depending upon the academic year, seniors are more ready towards self-directed learning than junior nursing students. KEY WORD: Self-Directed Learning, Readiness for SDL


II. METHODOLOGY A. Methods
A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among the students studying Bachelor of Science in nursing program.

B. Sampling and Setting
Non-probability, enumerative sampling technique was used among 107 students. The study was conducted in Yeti Health Science Academy and Kantipur Academy of Health Science, Kathmandu which are affiliated to Purbanchal University of Nepal.

C. Instrumentation
Structured self-administered questionnaire was administered which consisted two parts:-Part I: Socio-demographic Data Part II: Self-directed Learning (SDL) scale Self-directed learning scale for nursing education was developed by Murray Fisher, Jennie King and Grace Tague in 2001. It comprise of three dimensions i.e. self-management, desire for learning and self-control. It has 40 items with 5 point Likert scale which means it has 200 scores in total.

D. Data Collection
The researchers obtained permission to collect data from two nursing college authorities. After then questionnaires were distributed to the students and collected soon after the students filled up the questionnaire.

E. Data Analysis
The collected data was coded and then entered in IBM SPSS 20 version. The data was analyzed in terms of descriptive statistics i.e. frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation. Similarly Chi-square was used to measure the association between respondents' readiness level for SDL with socio-demographic variables.  F: frequency Table 2 shows the response of students for self-management in which the item 'I am self-discipline' have highest mean ± SD (4.03 ±0 .79 whereas the item 'I set strict time frames' have lowest mean ± SD (3.14 ± 0.770).  Table 3 shows the response of students for desire for leaning in which the item 'I learn from my mistakes' have highest mean ± SD (4.45 ± 0.717) whereas the item "I do enjoy studying" have lowest mean ±SD (3.62 ± 0.843).  Table 4 shows the response of students for self-control in which the item 'I prefer to set my own goals' have highest mean ± SD (4.23 ± 0.623) whereas the item "I have high personal standards" have the lowest mean ± SD (3.56 ± 0.767).  Table 5 shows that 69.2% of the respondents have high level of readiness for self-directed learning while only 30.8% respondents have low level of readiness for self-directed learning.  Table 6 reveals that there is statistically significant association between academic year and respondents' level of readiness for self-directed learning whereas no any statistically significant association between respondents' level of readiness for self-directed learning and other socio demographic variables i.e. ethnicity, age, religion, marital status, family type and residence.

IV. DISCUSSION
Here mean scores ≥ 150 indicates a high level of SDL, while mean scores <150 represents low level of SDL according to Fisher's et al criteria [9]. In this study, the total score of 69.2% of students had ≥150 scores which indicate high level of the readiness for SDL which suggest that most of the respondents were ready for self-directed learning. Somehow similar finding was found in the study by Bajracharya, Jha, Gurung, Ansari and Thapa in which 72.7% students' scores were ≥150 scores [10].
In the present study, the association of the level of readiness for self-directed learning with the academic year of students is significant (P = 0.045) while the association of the level of readiness for self-directed learning with age, ethnicity, religion, marital status, family type and residence were not significant. Similar findings was found in the study conducted by Ejaz, Afzal, Hussain, Majeed and Gilani among 133 students (2-years BSN Post RN) and (4-years BSN Generic) degree programs which showed that level of readiness for self-directed learning were significant with academic years only [11].

V. CONCLUSION
Based on the findings, it can be concluded that there is high level of readiness in majority of the students of Bachelor of Science in Nursing for SDL. A significant association was found only between academic years of students with the level of readiness for SDL which shows that depending upon the academic year seniors are more ready toward self-directed learning than junior nursing students.