Significance of Student's Feedback in the Development of Dental Curriculum: A Qualitative Study

Objective:To understand the significance and importance of the students' feedback in the development and incorporation of the students' point of view and reservations as a stakeholder in order to build a more effective and unbiased dental curriculum. Methods: A qualitative explorative study was conducted in Foundation University College of Dentistry for a duration of 6 months starting from 6th Feb and ending on 18th Aug 2017.Inclusion criteria included a two sessional focus group discussion (FGD) conducted with likewise graded students as per their exam scores which include high achieving (75-85%) and low achieving groups (55-66%) in the subject of Oral Biology. Those students who were willing to participate in this study.Exclusion criteria included students who scored less than 55% in low achievers and those who scored less than 75% in high achievers in the subject of Oral Biology. Also those who were not willing to participate in this study.Sample size was of 14 students took part in the FGD sessions. Results: Manual Thematic analysis was done to drive codes out of it. Open and Selective codes and themes were derived. Member checking and triangulation was done to validate my findings. Six common themes were adopted and students were asked to record their views and reservations on these themes. The themes included.Teaching approach, Issues regarding 1st year BDS education,Teachers/Students collaboration, Faculty qualification/experience status, Impact of student's input in curriculum development, Absence of collaborative sessions. All these points included were added based upon the students' feedbacks and reservations about the curriculum, teachers, assessment modes and were considered critical for better learning. Conclusion: As per our study findings, integrating multiple teaching approaches and emphasizing on students' feedback is significant for dental curriculum development.