Bridging Classrooms and Communities: The Transformative Impact of Community-Based Dental Education on the Learning Experiences of Undergraduate Students

IF 1.7 4区教育学 Q3 DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE

European Journal of Dental Education Pub Date : 2025-01-27 DOI:10.1111/eje.13076

Kamran Ali, Sruthi Sunil, Nidhi Gupta, Rebecca Glanville, T. Vanishree, Sadeq Ali Al-Maweri, Asmaa Al Khtib

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Aims

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of community-based dental education (CBDE) on the learning experiences of undergraduate dental students and recent dental graduates from two diverse geographical regions.

Methods

The study followed a cross-sectional design, conducted online using Google Forms, with ethical approval from Qatar University. A non-probability purposive sampling method was used to recruit dental students and recent graduates from three institutions in India and one in Qatar. A questionnaire based on 20 closed-ended items and two open-ended questions, developed by a team of dental academics, was used for data collection. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and thematic analysis for open-ended responses.

Results

The study included 148 participants, with 116 female (78.37%) and 32 male (21.62%) students, mostly from India (75%) and the rest from Qatar (25%). ANOVA revealed significant differences based on age, country and stage of education (p < 0.001). Dental interns had the highest mean score (1.12 ± 0.8), while Year 2 students had the lowest (0.75 ± 1.08). Female participants had a slightly higher mean score (1.05 ± 0.77) than male participants (0.92 ± 0.98), although this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.127). Key challenges included inadequate support and cultural barriers in India, and conflicts with religious obligations and didactic workload in Qatar. Recommendations focused on enhancing field activities, logistical support and mentorship programmes.

Conclusions

The study shows that dental students value CBDE for developing essential skills for community engagement. However, challenges differ across socio-cultural contexts, highlighting the need for more localised and supportive frameworks to improve CBDE experiences. The variation in student perceptions by age, education stage and country suggests that CBDE strategies should be flexible and adaptable to address the diverse learning needs of students.

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查看原文本刊更多论文

桥梁教室和社区：以社区为基础的牙科教育对大学生学习经历的变革影响。

目的：本研究旨在评估社区牙科教育（CBDE）对来自两个不同地理区域的牙科本科学生和近期牙科毕业生学习经历的影响。方法：该研究采用横断面设计，使用谷歌表格在线进行，并获得卡塔尔大学的伦理批准。采用非概率有目的抽样方法，从印度的三所院校和卡塔尔的一所院校招募牙科学生和应届毕业生。数据收集使用了一份由牙科学者团队开发的基于20个封闭式项目和两个开放式问题的问卷。数据分析包括描述性统计、方差分析（ANOVA）和开放式回答的专题分析。结果：该研究包括148名参与者，其中116名女性（78.37%）和32名男性（21.62%）学生，主要来自印度（75%），其余来自卡塔尔（25%）。方差分析揭示了年龄、国家和教育阶段的显著差异(p)。结论：研究表明，牙科学生重视CBDE发展社区参与的基本技能。然而，在不同的社会文化背景下，挑战是不同的，这突出了需要更多的本地化和支持性框架来改善CBDE体验。学生的认知因年龄、教育阶段和国家的不同而存在差异，这表明CBDE策略应具有灵活性和适应性，以满足学生不同的学习需求。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

European Journal of Dental Education 医学-学科教育

CiteScore

4.10

自引率

16.70%

发文量

127

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： The aim of the European Journal of Dental Education is to publish original topical and review articles of the highest quality in the field of Dental Education. The Journal seeks to disseminate widely the latest information on curriculum development teaching methodologies assessment techniques and quality assurance in the fields of dental undergraduate and postgraduate education and dental auxiliary personnel training. The scope includes the dental educational aspects of the basic medical sciences the behavioural sciences the interface with medical education information technology and distance learning and educational audit. Papers embodying the results of high-quality educational research of relevance to dentistry are particularly encouraged as are evidence-based reports of novel and established educational programmes and their outcomes.