Exploring Nursing Students’ and Faculty Members’ Perspective on Incivility in the Online Learning Environment: A Descriptive Qualitative Study

Incivility is a kind of disrespect to people. Students and faculty members agree on the growing trend of incivility. Uncivil behaviors in online nursing classes are a serious global issue that can influence the learning-teaching process and threaten patient safety in the clinical setting. This study aimed to identify incivility in the online learning environment from the perspective of nursing faculty members and students. This descriptive qualitative study was conducted in 2021. A total of 20 participants were selected from among nursing students and faculty through purposive sampling. Data were collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed via a qualitative content analysis approach. Data analysis revealed five categories including ghost students, unconditional freedom, disruptive learning behaviors, academic dishonesty, and ignoring the rules of the online learning environment. Incivility in the online learning environment disrupts the teaching-learning process and undermines instructor-student relationships. Given that disrespectful and threatening behaviors, even to a small degree, can significantly affect the learning environment, it is essential to recognize such behaviors. As uncivil behaviors in virtual nursing education can affect education by developing inappropriate behavioral and communication patterns in students, leading to the violation of professional ethics and patients’ rights, it is necessary to pay attention to this critical issue by conducting further studies and designing interventions to correct it.