The development and validation of a questionnaire to measure the clinical learning environment for undergraduate dental students (DECLEI)

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop and validate according to psychometric standards a self-administered instrument to measure the students' self-perceptions of the undergraduate clinical dental environment (DECLEI). Materials and methods:The initial questionnaire was developed using feedback from dental students, experts' opinion and an extensive literature review. Critical incident technique (CIT) analysis was used to generate items and identify domains. Thirty clinical dental students participated in a pilot validation that generated a 67-item questionnaire. To develop a shorter and more practical version of the instrument, DECLEI-67 was distributed to 153 clinical students at the University of Athens and its English version to 51 students from various dental schools, attending the 2012 European Dental Students Association meeting. This final procedure aimed to select items, identify subscales and measure internal consistency and discriminant validity.Results: A total of 202 students returned the questionnaires (response rate 99%). The final instrument included 24 items divided into three subscales: (i) organisation and learning opportunities, (ii) professionalism and communication and (iii) satisfaction and commitment to the dental studies. Cronbach's a for the total questionnaire was 0.89. The interscale correlations ranged from 0.39 to 0.48. The instrument identified differences related to school of origin, age and duration of clinical experience. An interpretation of the scores (range 0-100) has been proposed. Conclusions:The 24-item DECLEI seemed to be a practical and valid instrument to measure a dental school's undergraduate clinical learning environment.

The clinical learning environment in nursing education: a concept analysis

“…, Kossioni et al . ). Most researchers emphasized the CLE as composed of multiple entities having an impact on student learning and highlighting student achievement of outcomes is not guaranteed after having CLE experiences (Dunn & Burnett , Levett‐Jones & Lathlean , Sand‐Jecklin , Newton et al .…”

“…; requiring treatment as a medical problem; of or relating to a place where medical treatment is given. (Merriam-Webster 2015) No standard dictionary defined the term 'learning environment'; however, after reviewing the literature, researchers defining the CLE referenced an environment where students in healthcare education fields apply knowledge and skills while caring for patients, preparing students for professional practice which correlates with the dictionary definition of 'clinical' (Bloomfield & Subramaniam 2008, Brown et al 2013, Kossioni et al 2014, Merriam-Webster 2015.…”

Comparative Assessment of a New Holistic‐Oriented and an Old Specialty‐Specific Undergraduate Curriculum in Removable Prosthodontics: A Study Based on Senior Students’ Perceptions

“…The questionnaire consisted of 20 closed‐type questions, including 17 question‐statements (coded S.1 to S.17) and 3 multiple‐choice questions (coded Q.18 to Q.20). The domain of learning environment included the items (i) adequacy of the time allocated to clinical/laboratory training, (ii) adequacy of the number of mandatory cases, (iii) contribution of laboratory courses, lectures, seminars, textbooks, and academic staff's teaching skills to students’ clinical performance, (iv) bureaucratic procedures, and (v) guidance by instructors during clinical training . In terms of learning outcome, the items were associated with student‐perceived competence at (i) impression making, (ii) recording jaw relations, (iii) designing of RPD metal framework, (iv) communicating with patient and dental technician, (v) assessing patient's diagnostic data, and (vi) managing the patients with removable prostheses.…”

Comparing student and staff perceptions of the “Educational Climate” in Spanish Dental Schools using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure

“…Of these significant items, only 11 items had a better score in the students: four from the Academic subscale (items 5, 10, 26 and 31) and four from the Social subscale (items 14, 15, 28 and 46). The remaining 34 items were better valued by the teachers and were essentially educational aspects associated with the subscales of Learning (items: 7,13,16,20,22,24,25,44,48), Teachers (items: 6,8,9,18,29,32,37,39,40) and Atmosphere (items: 11,12,17,23,30,33,34,42,43,49; Table 2). The remaining five items in which the assessments of the students and teachers were similar (without statistically significant differences) were items 2, 27, 35, 38 and 50.…”

“…28 Other tools have been designed for the analysis of the EC in Dentistry. [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] The DREEM scale, however, has been the most commonly used instrument to date in a significant number of dental faculties globally, including: the UK, 11 Greece, 12 India, 13,14 Germany, 24 Pakistan, 17 Arabia, 15 New Zealand, 10,16,23 Malaysia, 19 Romania 41 and Spain. 18,25 It has also been shown to be reliable and valid in the dental education environment.…”