Factors Influencing the Students’ Perception of Lecturing Skills in Saudi Dental Schools

Abstract

Introduction: Students' feedback is vital in improving the teaching and learning process in dental schools across the globe, including Saudi Arabia. Objective: This study explores the factors influencing the students' perception of faculty members' lecturing skills in Saudi dental schools. It also determines whether there is any gender difference in their perception of lecturing skills. Methods: The exploratory study design was utilized to evaluate the factors influencing the dental students' perception of lecturing skills at the selected Saudi dental schools (n=4). This study included the complete student population (n=530) of the undergraduate dental program at those schools during the academic year 2020-2021. A questionnaire titled “Students Survey of Lecturing Skills (SSLS)” was distributed to the students through an online tool. The data of the completed questionnaires (n=426) was subjected to statistical analysis using statistical software. Results: The structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that five factors of SSLS, namely, Organization and Structure of the lectures (OS)”, “Lectures Effectiveness on Learning and Understanding (LEL)”, “Interest and Motivation (IM)”, “Professional Interaction (PI)”, and “Presentation and Classroom Atmosphere (PC)” are vital to evaluate the dental students' perception towards lecturing skills. Also, these five factors have significantly influenced the students' perception of faculty members' lecturing skills in Saudi dental schools. Overall, female dental students are highly satisfied than the male students in regard to their faculty members' lecturing skills. Conclusion: OS, LEL, IM, PI, and PC are the significant factors influencing dental students' perception of lecturing skills. These factors can be considered while assessing teaching quality and framing effective strategies for enhancing it at Saudi dental schools.