Factors Affecting Concentration and Attendance in the Classroom from Students' Point of View in Qom University of Medical Sciences (2018)

Background: Concentration is relative, and it can be improved and strengthened by changing some of the existing factors, and students’ active participation due to positive interaction with professors, in addition to motivation, leads to more concentration and better learning. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the factors affecting concentration and attendance in the classroom from students’ perspective. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in 2018. A total of 300 students were selected by quota sampling, and completed a three-part questionnaire including demographic characteristics, factors affecting concentration in the classroom and factors affecting attendance in the classroom. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation coefficient in SPSS. Results: From the viewpoint of 81.7% of female students, “sufficient information and knowledge of the professor on the subject matter” (mean: 4.40 ± 0.63) in the domain of the factors related to the professor, “drowsiness in the classroom” (mean: 4.31 ± 0.78) in the domain of factors related to the students and “the presence of noise pollution” (mean: 4.31 ± 0.78) in the area of environmental factors played the most important roles among the factors influencing concentration. “Mastery of the professor on the content” (mean: 4.52 ± 0.71) and “participation in the class as a duty” (mean: 3.52 ± 1.12) played the most and least important roles among the factors affecting attendance in classrooms, respectively. Conclusions: According to the study results, capabilities of professors in attending to students' status are important for the creation of concentration and motivation in students to attend classrooms.