Abstract
Purpose: The necessity to attend classroom lectures is a disputable topic among dental schools globally. Since there is an ongoing debate on different aspects of this problem in literature, the purpose of this study was to compare students’ attitudes toward classroom attendance and investigate if stricter attendance tracking methods could lead to better classroom attendance at two dental schools utilising different modes of tracking students’ attendance. Method: This was an observational, cross-sectional survey distributed among dental students enrolled at King Abdul-Aziz University (KAU) and King Saud University (KSU) in Saudi Arabia. The survey included questions on demographics, average travel time, student's attitudes toward classroom lectures and common reasons for absenteeism. Collected data were analysed and summarised as frequencies and percentages and then compared using the Chi-square test for statistical significance. Findings: The study involved 678 participants from KAU and 475 participants from KSU. In general, there was a significant difference in students’ attendance between both schools in which 26.8% of KAU dental students skipped 5 or more lectures/month compared to 11.5% of students at KSU. Among the factors affecting classroom lecture attendance, commuting time was a major one reported by students (44.8% of students at KSU and 51.4% at KAU needed 30-60 min to reach their schools). The availability of lectures through online resources and the necessity to study for exams were additional factors reported by students of both schools. Implications for research and practices: Based on the current data, the school’s method to track students’ attendance may have a role in the pattern of classroom absenteeism.
Highlights
The necessity to attend in-class lectures has been a controversial topic among dental educators triggered by the change in dental students’ generational change and attitudes combined with the recent schools’ investments and shift toward virtual learning during the time of COVID-19 outbreak (Stewart, Stott, & Nuttall, 2011)
Van Walbeek (2004) supposed that the relationship between attendance compliance and better academic performance is weaker than anticipated, which was in line with Chan (2009) who revealed that at the end of the 4-month block of diagnostic radiology course there was no difference between the academic achievement of medical students who were present and absent at 6 randomly selected lectures and that classroom attendees retained knowledge only for a short period of time
This study demonstrated that students who did not attend classroom lectures had lower academic performance record compared to those who attended them
Summary
The necessity to attend in-class lectures has been a controversial topic among dental educators triggered by the change in dental students’ generational change and attitudes combined with the recent schools’ investments and shift toward virtual learning during the time of COVID-19 outbreak (Stewart, Stott, & Nuttall, 2011). Student’ absenteeism patterns vary between dental institutes with no official data or literature to assess the magnitude of this phenomenon and its impact on dental education (Desalegn, Berhan, & Berhan, 2014). Factors such as the school adopted curriculum, lecturer’s attitude, students’ lack of motivation or interest towards specific subject have been linked to classroom absence reported in the medical literature (Alhabi et al, 2017; Moore, Armstrong, & Pearson, 2008). Educators in health-related specialities, including dentistry, are likely to support physical attendance of professional courses and group discussions to ensure the achievement of the required levels of professional competencies by students
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