Parents perceptions and support for e-learning of Dental undergraduate students during Covid-19 lockdown

Abstract

Objectives: The study's objective was to implement effective education strategies and to record parents' perceptions of e-learning based on their children's advantages and challenges in attaining knowledge during the lockdown.
 Methods: A total of 363 parents of students participated in the study. Based on the academic year of their children, 363 parents of dental students were categorized into four groups as parents of I BDS (93), II BDS (89), III BDS (93), and IV BDS (88). After introducing the e-learning system to all the students, the effectiveness of e-learning tools was evaluated by feedback forms. Demographics and background information, online teaching and learning methods, benefits and challenges, technical support by the faculty were assessed from the parents through Google forms to know whether their wards benefited through online teaching.
 Results: 85.9% of parents said that their wards were well engaged due to the online education system. 80.2 % of parents were satisfied with the institution's overall online education pattern. On a scale of 0 to 5, 33.9% of parents rated excellent for the faculty and management's efforts during online classes. 86.2 % of parents believed that their wards were benefited due to the online education system.
 Conclusion: The new system of e-learning managed to share the material, conducted assignments, and discussed exceptional cases of dental specialties to retain knowledge among the dental students during this lockdown. All the parents were happy enough that their wards had benefited absolutely from the online education system.