Teaching style in clinical nursing education: A qualitative study of Iranian nursing teachers’ experiences

SummaryThere are many studies about nursing clinical settings and their problems, but the teaching style as a whole has not been widely studied. Therefore, this study aimed to explore nursing teachers’ perceptions about teaching style in the clinical settings in Iran. A grounded theory approach was used to conduct this study. Fifteen nursing teachers were interviewed individually, 2006–2007. The interviews were tape-recorded and later transcribed verbatim. The transcriptions were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin’s method. Three main and 12 sub themes emerged from data and these could explain the nature of the teaching style in clinical education of the Mashhad Faculty of Nursing and probably others in Iran. The main themes included: multiplicity in teaching style, nature of clinical teaching, and control and adaptation in education atmosphere. Multiplicity in teaching style was the dominant concept in this study. Each educator had a personal and individualized style which was flexible according to the situation, type of the skill (course content), education environment and facilities, and level of the learner. This study can guide nurse educators to know more about teaching styles and use them appropriately in the clinical settings. Further research into the themes of this study are recommended.