Exploring Humanities Education in Chinese Dental Schools: Perspectives From Faculty Members and Students

Objective

To evaluate the status quo of humanities education in Chinese dental institutions and identify improvement areas.

Methods

A nationwide cross-sectional study across 20 representative Chinese dental institutions employed survey questionnaires developed through literature review and expert consultations. The questionnaire included a visual analogue scale satisfaction assessment, multiple-choice questions, and open-ended questions supplemented by the Chinese Jefferson Scale of Empathy for students. Responses from students, faculty members, and administrators of each school were analysed to evaluate current practices and improvement opportunities.

Results

A total of 5085 dental students, 2044 faculty members, and 20 administrative staff from 20 dental institutions completed the questionaries. Both cohorts identified the curriculum design and teaching delivery mode as the most unsatisfactory aspects of current humanities education. Specifically, students emphasized the need for longitudinal integration of humanities content throughout dental education. Satisfaction levels varied significantly by students ‘academic progression and faculty members’ career stage. Female dental students consistently demonstrated higher empathy scores than males (P < .0001), with no rural-urban disparities observed. Strong study motivation was positively correlated with higher empathy scores (P < .0001), while study stress also showed a positive correlation with empathy scores.

Conclusions

Humanities education in dentistry was found to have positive effects on dental students. However, current humanities education requires curricular optimization, pedagogical innovation, and empathy cultivation strategies to enhance implementation efficacy.