Gerhard Schmalz, Stefan Büchi, Dirk Ziebolz, Deborah Kreher, Thomas Gerhard Wolf, Daniela Ackermann-Piek
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: This study aimed at an initial validation of the Working Alliance Inventory for Education (WAI-EDU), an instrument to assess student-teacher relationship (STR).
Methods: The WAI-EDU was derived from the original Working Alliance Inventory to fit the context of higher education. Following a pre-test, the tool was applied to two different study settings. In the first study part, 81 clinical students completed the WAI-EDU at baseline, after 1 h (t1), and after 1 w (t2), to assess reliability. For comparison, a visual analogue scale (VAS) was also used to evaluate STR. In the second study part, 60 preclinical students completed the WAI-EDU at baseline and at a follow-up after 1 week of intensive education. Cronbach's α, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis.
Results: Cronbach's α of the WAI-EDU was higher than 0.9 at each time point in the cohort of 81 students. The test-retest-reliability was highest between baseline and t1 (r = 0.928). Even between baseline and t2, and between t1 and t2, values higher than r = 0.8 were determined. In addition, the WAI-EDU correlated with VAS scales for strength (r = 0.627, p < 0.01) and quality of STR (r = 0.596, p < 0.01). After 1 week of teaching in the second cohort (n = 60), a significantly higher WAI-EDU sum score was revealed (47.43 ± 7.46 vs. 40.73 ± 8.08, p < 0.01). During 1 week of education, similar to the WAI-EDU results, the VAS values for STR increased significantly (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: The WAI-EDU demonstrated robust reliability and validity in measuring STR. These findings suggest that the WAI-EDU is a promising tool for evaluating STR.
Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-025-02306-x.
期刊介绍：
Medical Science Educator is the successor of the journal JIAMSE. It is the peer-reviewed publication of the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE). The Journal offers all who teach in healthcare the most current information to succeed in their task by publishing scholarly activities, opinions, and resources in medical science education. Published articles focus on teaching the sciences fundamental to modern medicine and health, and include basic science education, clinical teaching, and the use of modern education technologies. The Journal provides the readership a better understanding of teaching and learning techniques in order to advance medical science education.
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