Validating the clinical learning environment and supervision and nurse teacher scale (CLES + T scale) in Slovakia

Abstract Aim The application of reliable and valid tools may be helpful to evaluate the effectiveness of the clinical learning environment in nurse education and to enhance international comparison of clinical learning between European countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties (internal consistency and construct validity) of the Slovak version of the Clinical Learning Environment + Teacher (CLES + T) evaluation scale, and to evaluate its usefulness in the context of clinical learning. Design A cross-sectional validation study. Methods The sample included 503 students from six Slovak universities. The structure of the instrument was computed with principal component analysis. Cronbach's alpha was calculated to measure the internal reliability of the CLES + T scale. Results The factor structure of the Slovak version of the CLES + T scale was in line with the original study and other studies in Western European countries. The internal consistency of the Cronbach's alpha values of five subscales of the CLES + T scale was high. Conclusion The Slovak version of the CLES + T is a valid and reliable tool that can be useful to assess students’ evaluation of the clinical learning environment as well as the impact of clinical supervision methods on the domains of the learning environment.