AbstractEnglish as a second language (ESL) nursing students have a significantly higher attrition rate and lower National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) pass rate than their non-ESL counterparts. Instructor caring behaviors (ICBs) are the ways nursing instructors treat students with respect, taking care to avoid prejudices, stereotyping, and judgments in the teaching-learning process which present prelicensure faculty to grapple with the challenge of effectively meeting the learning needs of both ESL and non-ESL students. The purpose of this cross-sectional, comparative study, guided by Watson’s theory of human caring, was to explore the differences in perceptions of ICBs between ESL and non-ESL prelicensure nursing students enrolled in associate of science in nursing (ASN) and bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) programs. A sample size of 50 participants drawn from three ASN programs, located in the Northeastern United States, completed the Nursing Students’ Perceptions of Instructor Caring survey questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a series of Mann-Whitney U tests. The study findings indicated no significant difference between prelicensure ESL and non-ESL ASN students in how they perceived ICBs. The results from this study could be used to empower nursing program administrators and faculty to better support both ESL and non-ESL students to effect positive social change so nursing could have better representation of minority populations. Future research could be conducted using a larger number of participants from both prelicensure ASN and BSN programs with diverse student populations
