Study Habits of Dental Students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (2018)

Abstract

Background: Bad study habits are considered one of the main causes of students’ academic failure and can have an important impact on their education and their occupational prospect. Objectives: This research was conducted to investigate the study habits of dental students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in southwest of Iran. Methods: In this descriptive research, Palsane and Sharma study habits inventory was used to measure students’ habits. Census sampling method was used and all students of general dentistry were selected. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data in SPSS version 22. Results: A total of 160 students (Doctor of Dental Medicine) who had passed at least one year of studying participated in this research. Based on the results, the mean scores were as follows: budgeting time 5.1/10, physical condition 6.9/12, reading ability 8.22/16, note-taking 2.1/6, learning motivation 7.2/12, memory 4.4/8, taking examination 10.6/20, and health 2.5/6. Therefore, according to the mean scores of the inventory, the study habits of the students under study were relatively favorable and moderate, 47 out of 90. Conclusions: Studying and learning styles can affect academic achievement of students, hence, differentiating successful and unsuccessful students at university. Holding training courses, lectures and workshops, designing mobile educational apps, incorporating intensive training courses of teaching effective study methods; especially through the medical education development centers of universities, can be useful in improving this process.