Abstract
Objectives: The purpose of the study was to determine satisfaction of dental hygiene students with dental hygiene practices by assessing their responses to curriculum, teaching methods and student evaluation system and to provide basic information needed to improve the quality of dental hygiene practices. Methods: A questionnaire was self-administered by 682 students(243 sophomores and 439 juniors) majoring in dental hygiene in colleges based in Gwangju, South Gyeongsang Province and South Cheolla Province. This questionnaire was composed of items measuring respondents’perception with curriculum for clinical practices, teaching methods and student evaluation system. A one-way ANOVA was employed to assess respondents’satisfaction, and Scheffe’s post hoc test was performed for multiple comparisons. Results: Respondents’satisfaction with curriculum was higher, followed by their satisfaction with teaching methods and student evaluation system. Sophomore students showed a higher level of satisfaction with clinical practice courses than junior students. By practice period, respondents had a higher level of satisfaction with 4 to 5-week clinical practice. Respondents cited practice-based content as the main reason for their satisfaction with curriculum showed the mean score of 3.65. The practicebased content was followed by well-balanced education in basic knowledge and clinical practices, proper course schedules for lectures and lab work and inclusion of the latest dental clinic theories. At the same time, respondents showed a negative response to the curriculum because the content of the courses overlapped(3.64). Respondents cited instructors’enthusiasm as the main reason for their satisfaction with teaching methods(3.66). And then they considered teaching materials diverse, and clinical practice programs specific and practical. But they thought that lectures are delivered in a uniformed way all the time(3.35). With regard to student evaluation, respondents thought that examination is based on rote learning(3.68). And they also cited limited number of evaluation, ineffective evaluation system for lab work and the lack of faculty members for evaluation as main reasons for their dissatisfaction with student evaluation system. Conclusion: The study emphasizes the need for improvement in teaching methods in clinical practice programs. It is therefore imperative to develop teaching-learning programs to improve teaching methods.