Research Article Measurement properties of a peer-teaching scale for nursing education Brett Williams, PhD, 1 Lisa McKenna, PhD, 2 Jill French, MEdSt 2 and Simon Dousek, BEH(Para) 1 1 Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice and 2 School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Abstract Teaching is a key role for nurses in contemporary clinical practice. Consequently, peer-assisted learning continues to gather momentum in nursing education in tertiary and professional education settings. In this study, we investigated the factor structure of the Peer Teaching Experience Questionnaire when completed by a group of nursing undergraduates from a large Australian university. Data from the 14-item Peer Teaching Experience Questionnaire completed by third year undergraduate nursing students were analyzed using factor analysis. A total of 257 final (third)-year undergraduate nursing students participated in the study. Factor analysis of the 14 items revealed three factors with eigenvalues above 1, accounting for 47.3% of the total variance. Items with loadings greater than  0.40, with the factor in question, were used to characterize the factor solutions. Findings from the exploratory factor analysis provide preliminary results that the Peer Teaching Experience Questionnaire has adequate dimensionality and reliability. Key words education, factor analysis, nursing education, peer-assisted learning, undergraduate. INTRODUCTION Over the past decade, peer-assisted learning (PAL) has become an increasingly popular and valuable educational strategy. There are several different methods of organizing and directing PAL (Secomb, 2008); however, in Australian nursing education, it usually consists of the two-way commu- nication of information between two parties of differing edu- cational levels who are each engaged in learning the same subject (Boud, 2001). One party, usually the more advanced, takes on the role of the “teacher” and designs and conducts a lesson, while the other party, usually more junior, is the recipient of the lesson and takes on the role of the “learner”. The PAL process brings benefits to both the teachers (peer facilitators) and the learners by increasing their knowledge of the subject, as well as enhancing their ability to engage in an active learning process, both as learners and teachers (Topping, 2001; Capstick, 2004). While the focus of this paper is based on the nursing profession and teaching of clinical skills, PAL (sometimes referred to as peer-led team learning, supplemental instruc- tion, or structured learning assistance) and its advantages and barriers have been explored in tertiary education for many decades in other areas, such as engineering, mathematics, management, physics, chemistry, anatomy, and higher educa- tion (Capstick & Fleming, 2001; Topping, 2001; Capstick, 2004; Loke & Chow, 2007; Cheng & Walters, 2009; Carbone, 2012). The utility of PAL has also been used within the primary and secondary education settings, further high- lighting its educational benefits (Greenwood et al., 1988; Stephenson & Warwick, 2001). The continued rise in popularity of PAL within the tertiary education sector is largely due to the educational benefits for both peer learners and peer teachers, which appear to be centered around improved active and cooperative learning, team teaching, adjusting to university expectations, peers having a better understanding of learning issues and other expectations, improved student grades and clinical perform- ance, and acquisition of non-technical skills, such as commu- nication (public speaking, teamwork, and problem solving) (Topping, 2001; Capstick, 2004; Loke & Chow, 2007; Cheng & Walters, 2009). While there is a clear body of evidence sup- porting PAL, a number of scholars highlight its educational shortcomings (Sim, 2003; Capstick, 2004; Hammond et al., 2010). These include peer teachers being not useful in the learning process; PAL sessions often lacking structure, format, or aims; peer teachers providing incorrect or inappro- priate information; and methodological experimental weaknesses in evaluating PAL and improved grades (i.e. self-selection vs true control groups) (Capstick & Fleming, 2001; Capstick, 2004; Hammond et al., 2010). The attribute of teaching others has long been considered an essential skill for nurses, and in recognition of this, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council affirmed its Correspondence address: Brett Williams, Department of Community Emergency Health & Paramedic Practice, Monash University – Peninsula Campus, PO Box 527, McMahons Road, Frankston, Vic 3199, Australia. Email: brett.williams@monash.edu Received 5 June 2012; revision received 29 November 2012; accepted 30 December 2012. Nursing and Health Sciences (2013), 15, 368–373 © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd. doi: 10.1111/nhs.12040