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Evaluation of an Academic Service‐Learning Course on Special Needs Patients for Dental Hygiene Students: A Qualitative Study
Author(s) -
Keselyak Nancy T.,
SimmerBeck Melanie,
Bray Kimberly Krust,
GadburyAmyot Cynthia C.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of dental education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1930-7837
pISSN - 0022-0337
DOI - 10.1002/j.0022-0337.2007.71.3.tb04288.x
Subject(s) - service learning , medical education , dental hygiene , psychology , qualitative research , subject matter , qualitative property , special needs , course evaluation , medicine , nursing , higher education , pedagogy , curriculum , sociology , machine learning , psychiatry , computer science , political science , law , social science
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of a service‐learning course on special needs patients for dental hygiene students by considering student reflections, community site coordinators’ feedback, and faculty reflections in a qualitative analysis. Twenty‐three female dental hygiene students beginning their fourth semester in the program provided preventive oral health services at eight community sites serving six diverse groups of people having special health care needs. Students reflected on the experience via commentaries written in self‐reflection journals. The investigators applied the constant comparative method to analyze and unitize the data, ultimately reaching consensus on three category topics: awareness, higher order thinking, and professionalism. End of course project assessments provided additional data that was used to triangulate with data from the reflective journals. Telephone interviews with the site coordinators and personal interviews with the course faculty provided data from multiple perspectives. The outcomes of this study suggest that service‐learning pedagogy can facilitate a deeper understanding of the subject matter and provide an opportunity for students to use critical thinking strategies in addition to becoming aware of complex social and professional issues related to the oral health care of individuals with special needs.