The Predictive Role of Community of Inquiry in Shaping Students' Creative Self‐Concept: A Cross‐Sectional Study

TL;DR

This study shows that how nursing students engage in learning communities influences their belief in their own creativity, with design and resolution aspects being most important.

Contribution

The study identifies specific community of inquiry dimensions that predict creative self-concept in Saudi nursing students.

Findings

Creative self-concept is positively correlated with all community of inquiry dimensions, especially resolution.

Age, year of study, design, and resolution significantly predict creative self-concept (adjusted R² = 0.182).

Creative self-concept is influenced by instructional design and application-focused learning experiences.

Abstract

Creative self‐concept is essential for nursing students as it supports innovation, adaptability and problem‐solving in clinical practice. The community of inquiry framework offers a model for promoting reflective and meaningful learning. This study explored the role of community of inquiry and demographics as predictors of creative self‐concept among Saudi nursing students.

A cross‐sectional, correlational design was used with 394 nursing students from a public university in Riyadh, selected through stratified random sampling. Data was collected using validated self‐report instruments: the community of inquiry Survey and Short Scale of Creative Self.

Students reported moderate levels across community of inquiry subscales and moderately high Creative self‐concept. It was positively correlated with all community of inquiry dimensions, particularly the Resolution subscale. Regression analysis showed age, year of study, Design and Organisation and Resolution significantly predicted creative self‐concept (Adjusted R
2 = 0.182, p < 0.001).

Findings suggest that student creativity‐related self‐beliefs are more strongly associated with instructional design and organisation, and with learning experiences that emphasise application and resolution than with general engagement alone. However, the modest proportion of explained variance indicates that creative self‐concept is likely shaped by additional personal and contextual factors beyond CoI, highlighting the need for curricula that cultivate creative confidence and for longitudinal research to clarify causal pathways.

Undergraduate nursing students indirectly contributed by providing feedback during data collection through their responses to the survey instruments.