Perspectives of teachers and students towards the implementation of a new curriculum in school of dentistry in Kerman, Iran, in ۲۰۱۷

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The aim of this study is to investigate the views of teachers and students about the new educational curriculum to determine its strengths and weaknesses. METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in ۲۰۱۵ and data collection was performed from dental students entering the university in the academic year ۲۰۱۰-۲۰۱۲ as well as ۳۵ teachers through the use of a questionnaire in the field. The questionnaire items included various areas of the educational curriculum. T-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey test were used for analysis (P ≤ ۰.۰۵۰). RESULTS: Based on the ۹۸ questionnaires filled, the minimum and maximum age of the subjects were respectively ۲۰ and ۳۴ years old, with the mean age of ۲۲.۹۸ ± ۲.۰۲ years old. In addition, ۵۳ (۵۴%) and ۴۵ (۴۶%) of them were males and females, respectively. The mean attitude was respectively ۶۴.۳۰ ± ۱۳.۶۶ and ۵۸.۸۴ ± ۱۱.۱۲ in males and females. A significant relationship was observed between the attitudes toward educational curriculum and gender. Moreover, the results of correlation analysis showed more positive attitude towards educational curriculum with increasing age (P ≤ ۰.۰۳۴). Post-hoc test scores showed a significant difference between the viewpoints of students entering the university in ۲۰۱۰ and ۲۰۱۱ (P ≤ ۰.۰۰۱), as well as ۲۰۱۱ and ۲۰۱۲ (senior year students compared to junior ones, P ≤ ۰.۰۰۳), but no significant difference was observed between students’ viewpoint entering in ۲۰۱۰ and ۲۰۱۲ (P ≤ ۰.۱۴۵). The results indicated no significant relationship between the viewpoint of teachers and age. These results showed only a significant relationship regarding teaching experiences and viewpoint toward educational curriculum. CONCLUSION: This study showed no positive views of the teachers and students about theoretical and practical training in the new curriculum, which may be mainly due to the lack of attention to the educational needs of students as well as their practical usage. Furthermore, by increasing teaching experiences of the teachers followed by increasing their clinical experiences, their satisfaction reduced.

Keywords:

Students , Curriculum , Dental education