Nursing and Health Sciences (2011), 13, 84–

87

Research Article

Role model behaviors of nursing faculty members

in Thailand
Areewan Klunklin, RN, PhD,1 Piyawan Sawasdisingha, RN, MSc,1 Nongkran Viseskul, RN, PhD,1
Naomi Funashima, RN, DNSc,2 Tomomi Kameoka, RN, DNSc,3 Yuriko Nomoto, RN, DNSc4 and
Toshiko Nakayama, RN, DNSc2
1
Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2School of Nursing, Chiba University,
Chiba, 3Department of Nursing Education, National College of Nursing, Tokyo and 4Faculty of Health
Sciences, Ehime Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Ehime, Japan

Abstract Being a role model is very important in order for nurse teachers to promote students’ competence and
confidence. This descriptive study aimed at exploring the role model behavior of nursing faculty members
in Thailand. The Self-Evaluation Scale on Role Model Behaviors for Nursing Faculty (Thai version) was
used to collect data from 320 nursing faculty members in eight schools of nursing, four university nursing
schools, one college under the Ministry of Public Health, one under the Bangkok Metropolitan
Administration, and two private schools of nursing. The results revealed that the mean score of the overall
items in the role model behaviors of nursing faculty members in Thailand, as perceived by themselves,
was at a high level. The scores on each subscale of the role model behaviors also were high and related to
respect for students, enthusiastic and high-quality teaching activities, showing the value of nursing practice
and the nursing profession, social appropriateness, and ongoing professional development. The results can
be used to further develop nurse professionals and to improve the effectiveness of clinical teaching in
Thailand.

Key words behavior, nursing faculty member, role modeling, Thailand.

INTRODUCTION
Nursing is a practice-based profession (Chow & Suen,
2001; Gillespie & McFetridge, 2006) and nursing
education includes a variety of subjects to be taught in the
classroom that relate to the clinical setting (Ioannides,
1999). Therefore, learning in the practice setting is an
important component of nursing education (Perry, 2009).
Role modeling in nursing has received significant attention
in the nursing literature; for example, role models’
influence on the clinical learning envi- ronment and on the
development of students’ competence and confidence
(Donaldson & Carter, 2005). In addition, role models not
only instruct nursing students on how to carry out practical
procedures, but they also teach them the tactical aspects of
nursing care (Perry, 2009). Clinical teachers are the role
models for nursing students (Etheridge, 2007) and stu-
dents can learn from a role model through their
observations in clinical practice; for instance, in a nursing
intervention that requires a silence technique to improve
effective communi- cation (Perry, 2009). Nursing students
expect that they will copy the behaviors and attitudes of
role models (Donaldson & Carter, 2005) and Perry (2009)
contended that learning
Correspondence address: Areewan Klunklin, Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai Uni-
versity, 110 Inthawarorots Road, Sriphum District, Muang, Chiang Mai, Thailand
50200. Email: areewan@mail.nurse.cmu.ac.th
Received 30 September 2010; accepted 6 February 2011.
from a role model is more than just learning through imita-
tion. Moreover, role modeling is an effective teaching
method and clinical teachers have to understand that their
interactions and attitudes affect their students (Wright &
Wong, 1997), as role models have an effect on the behavior
and attitudes of others in either positive or negative ways
(Perry, 2009).
Nursing education in Asia is changing radically and is
affected by the socioeconomic situation in most Asian
coun- tries, with a growth in the amount of doctoral and
master degree programs being offered (Kunaviktikul,
2006), while more students are being educated at the
bachelor degree level. In Thailand, the nursing profession
has been develop- ing for more than a century. Today,
nurses provide health care that includes health promotion,
disease prevention, care, and the rehabilitation of clients in
a variety of settings. Nursing education programs have
been offered by several sectors that provide curricula at
both the undergraduate and the graduate level. Presently,
nursing courses are provided at 82 loca- tions across the
country (11 university schools, 57 colleges under the
Ministry of Public Health, four under the Ministry of
Defense, one under the Thai Red Cross, one under the
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, one police nursing
college, and seven private schools of nursing) (The
Thailand Nursing Council, 2009). The undergraduate
nursing curricu- lum is covered over a 4 year period;
usually, clinical practice
Nursing and Health Sciences (2011), 13, 84–
87
© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd. doi: 10.1111/j.1442-2018.2011.00585.x
Role model behaviors of nursing
faculty
starts during the second year of the nursing program. It is
particularly important for nursing students to develop
knowl- edge and to learn in the practice-based discipline of
nursing (Klunklin et al., 2010). The nurse teacher is a
faculty member who has responsibility for the students’
learning in the clini- cal setting. Therefore, teachers as role
models have a vital function of teaching professional
attitudes and behaviors in nursing. Nurse teachers believe
that being a role model of a good teacher and a good nurse
is the most effective way to convey professional
experience and attitudes (Hossein et al., 2009). Very few
studies have focused on the role model behaviors of
nursing faculty members in Thailand. The study that is
described here provides a starting point for an under-
standing of these role model behaviors.
AIM
The aim of this study was to investigate the role model
behav- ior of nursing faculty members in Thailand, as role
models affect the behavior and attitudes of nursing
students.
METHOD
Design
A descriptive study, using a questionnaire, was conducted.
Participants
The participants comprised 320 nursing faculty members
from four university schools, one college under the
Ministry of Public Health, the Bangkok Metropolitan
Administration College, and two private schools of nursing
in Thailand. The participants were recruited from each
school by using convenience sampling and they were
accessed by volunteer representatives of the nursing
faculty.
Instruments
The questionnaire consisted of brief demographic
questions and the Self-Evaluation Scale on Role Model
Behaviors for Nursing Faculty, Thai version (RMBNF-T).
The demographic questions related to the participants’ sex,
age, education, and teaching experience. The RMBNF-T
was translated by the researchers from the RMBNF, the
English version that was developed by Kameoka et al.
(2007) to measure the role model behaviors of nursing
faculty members. The RMBNF has well-established
internal consistency and content validity (Kameoka et al.,
2007). The RMBNF-T was sent to three educational
experts for approval and for verifying its accu- racy, using
the back-translation technique. The Cronbach’s alpha was
calculated to estimate the reliability of the RMBNF-T and
showed a high level of internal consistency, at
0.95 (Polit et al., 2001). The RMBNF-T consists of 35 items,
each with a five-point rating scale: 1 (“almost never”), 2
(“occasionally”), 3 (“usually”), 4 (“almost always”), and 5
(“always”). There are five components, including six items of
behaviors that show social appropriateness, eight items
of behaviors that show respect for students, seven items of
85
behaviors that show the value of nursing practice and the
nursing profession, five items of behaviors that show
enthu- siastic and high-quality teaching activities, and nine
items of behaviors that relate to ongoing professional
development. The criteria for the mean score interpretation
were 4.50–5.00 (highest score), 3.50–4.49 (high score),
2.50–3.49 (moderate score), 1.50–2.49 (low score), and
1.00–1.49 (lowest score).
Data collection
From a total of 82 nursing institutes (11 university schools,
57 colleges under the Ministry of Public Health, four under
the Ministry of Defense, one under the Thai Red Cross,
one under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, one
police nursing college, and seven private schools of
nursing), eight nursing schools, both public and private
from four regions in Thailand, were selected by using
convenience sampling. Subsequently, 395 out of 569
nursing faculty members were recruited by using
convenience sampling. The data were col- lected through
the instrument’s distribution to the sample by volunteer
representatives of the nursing faculty at the eight schools.
The return rate was 81.01%.
Data analysis
The data were analyzed by using the Statistical Program for
Social Sciences for Windows (Version 12; SPSS, Chiang Mai,
Thailand) in order to describe the demographic characteris-
tics and role model behavior scores of the participants, using
the mean and standard deviation (SD). Prior to the data
analysis, the distribution of the data was tested by using the
Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the result indicated a normal
distribution.
Ethical considerations
Approval for the study was obtained from the Institutional
Review Board of the Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai
Univer- sity, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Research permission
also was obtained from each school administrator. A
participant information sheet was attached to the research
instrument to inform each potential participant about the
study. The confidentiality of all the information about the
participants was maintained and no identifying marker was
placed on the questionnaires.
RESULTS
Demographic data
All the participants were academics who were working in
undergraduate or graduate nursing programs in Thailand.
There were 307 (95.94%) female nursing faculty members
and 13 (4.06%) male nursing faculty members. Two-
hundred- and-two (63.3%) participants were aged  50
years. Two- hundred-and-eight (65.0%) participants had
graduated with a master degree, 109 (34.06%) had
graduated with a doctoral degree, and 198 (61.88%) had 
10 years of teaching experience.
Role model behaviors of nursing 85
faculty
© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.
86
Table 1. Means, standard deviations (SDs), and levels of the mean
scores of the role model behaviors of the nursing faculty members
in each category and overall
Role model behavior Mean SD Level
Social appropriateness 4.13 0.56 High
Respect for students 4.50 0.49 Highest
Showing the value of nursing practice 4.43 0.55 High
and the nursing profession
Enthusiastic and high-quality 4.48 0.50 High
teaching activities
Ongoing professional development 4.11 0.62 High
Total 4.32 0.44 High
Role model behaviors of the nursing faculty members
The mean score of the overall items in the role model behav-
iors of the nursing faculty members in Thailand, as perceived
by themselves, was high (mean = 4.32, SD = 0.44). The mean
score in each subscale of the role model behaviors was:
respect for students (mean = 4.50, SD = 0.49); enthusiastic
and high-quality teaching activities (mean = 4.48, SD = 0.50);
showing the value of nursing practice and the nursing pro-
fession (mean = 4.43, SD = 0.55); social appropriateness
(mean = 4.13, SD = 0.56); and ongoing professional develop-
ment (mean = 4.11, SD = 0.62) (see Table 1).
DISCUSSION
The mean scores of the role model behaviors of the nursing
faculty members, as perceived by themselves, were
generally high and showed an “almost always” level of
perfor- mance. Regarding social appropriateness, the nurse
teachers behaved in a polite manner. This is perhaps
because tradi- tional Thai culture defines a virtuous woman
(kulasatrii) as proficient and graceful, with a polite
manner (Klunklin & Greenwood, 2005). The behaviors that
showed respect for students were at the highest level and
showed an “always” level of performance. In Thai nursing
education, teachers act as the students’ parents, which
creates a warm relationship between the teachers and
students that is friendly but respectful. Thai students
similarly behave in a respectful manner towards their
teachers (Burnard & Naiyapatana, 2004; Burnard, 2006).
Gillespie and McFetridge (2006) and Hayajneh (2010) also
indicated that clinical teachers should encourage an
atmosphere of mutual respect. Thus, in order to develop
students’ professional nursing, nurse teachers need to be a
role model and express respect, empathy, and support for
their students (Hsu, 2006).
The behaviors that showed the value of nursing practice
and the nursing profession were scored at a high level by
the participants and showed an “almost always” level of
perfor- mance. Most of the nurse teachers in the study had
 10 years of teaching experience and this could have
enhanced their belief in the value of nursing practice.
Nursing is a practice- based profession, with clinical
experience being important in order to improve nurses’
practice skills (Gillespie &
A. Klunklin et al.
McFetridge, 2006). Nurse teachers have a critical role in
pro- viding practical advice to students prior to and during
prac- tice in the clinical area (Duffy & Watson, 2001).
Additionally, students are expected to imitate the behavior
and attitudes of their teachers (Donaldson & Carter, 2005).
Hsu (2006) indi- cated that excellence in clinical teaching
is required in order to assist nursing students in the
development of professional values.
The scores regarding enthusiastic and high-quality teach-
ing activities were high and showed an “almost always”
level of performance. This result shows the adequate
preparation
of the nurse teacher in classroom teaching, including the
teaching media and learning environment, which affects
posi- tive learning outcomes. As Davies et al. (1996)
mentioned, nurse teachers’ role is to help their students to
apply their knowledge in clinical practice. Nurse teachers
should have teaching competence and knowledge,
instructional skills, be able to plan the learning experience,
determine the teaching priorities, and monitor students’
progress (Hsu, 2006). More- over, excellent teachers use
multiple strategies in teaching the content to students
(Johnson-Farmer & Frenn, 2009).
The scores regarding ongoing professional development
also were high and showed an “almost always” level of
per- formance. According to the requirements of The
Thailand Nursing Council (2009) for improving nursing
practice, reg- istered nurses and nurse teachers are required
to renew their license every 5 years. Therefore, nurse
teachers are expected to update their knowledge and
information, attend profes- sional conferences, and read
professional journals. In addi- tion, the role of nurse
teachers in higher education involves them having an active
part in research (Cave, 2005).
The limitation of this study is the questionable accuracy
of self-reporting for a socially desirable trait. The faculty
members might overestimate or underestimate themselves.
Individuals do not always reply or answer in the way that
they really think or act, as they often respond in a way
whereby they are seen in a positive or correct manner
(Paulhus, 1991). The authors trusted that the nurse teachers
were self-aware and did not have a distorted self-
perception. In order to clarify this bias, the students should
rate the faculty members’ mentoring behavior in future
studies.
CONCLUSION
Role modeling in clinical teaching and learning is very
important in order to improve the behaviors and attitudes
of nursing students. The aim of this study was to describe
the self-evaluated role model behavior of nursing faculty
members in Thailand. The results revealed that the scores
for the role model behaviors of the nursing faculty
members, as perceived by themselves, were generally high,
with an “almost always” level of performance in every
category. The data from this study can be used to further
develop the nursing profession and to improve the
effectiveness of clini- cal teaching in Thailand. Nurse
teachers should continuously develop their behavior in
relation to social appropriateness, respect for students,
showing the value of nursing practice and the nursing
profession, enthusiastic and high-quality teaching
86 A. Klunklin et al.
activities, and ongoing professional development in

© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Role model behaviors of nursing
faculty
order to continue being a good role model in nursing.
However, this study investigated only the teacher’s view of
role model behaviors. Therefore, further research in
Thailand needs to study nursing students’ views on the role
modeling of their teachers, as this would add a critical
dimension to nurse teachers’ view of their teaching
behavior.
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