(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2007) Wirtz, Ellen Frances; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Betsy Palmer
Moral integrity development and professional decision making ability is a vital characteristic in nurses. A review of the literature revealed that while the moral development of baccalaureate nursing students had been investigated, there was little data investigating the variables affecting the moral development of nursing students in two-year colleges. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate if age, gender, prior work experience in the health care field, prior college experience and grade point average made a difference in the moral development of nursing students in two-year colleges at the beginning and at the end of their nursing programs. The cognitive development theory of Piaget, the moral development theory of Kohlberg, Gilligan's theory of the moral development in women and Parse's nursing theory of human becoming formed the framework for this research.
