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Differential effects of individual and school factors on the academic trajectories of Japanese dental students
Author(s) -
Nawa Nobutoshi,
Numasawa Mitsuyuki,
Nakagawa Mina,
Sunaga Masayo,
Fujiwara Takeo,
Tanaka Yujiro,
Kinoshita Atsuhiro
Publication year - 2020
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/jdd.12150
Subject(s) - odds , odds ratio , logistic regression , multinomial logistic regression , psychology , academic achievement , academic year , demography , mathematics education , medicine , medical education , mathematics , statistics , sociology , pathology
Objective Dental students follow different academic performance trajectories in response to increasing study load, based on individual and school factors. Group‐based trajectory modeling is useful for clarifying the underlying trajectory patterns of students’ academic performance and its determinants. To our knowledge, no studies have used group‐based trajectory modeling to examine the effects of individual and school factors on academic performance trajectories in dental students. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of individual and school factors on academic performance trajectories in Japanese dental students using group‐based trajectory modeling. Methods The analytical sample consists of 103 dental students admitted to Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan, in 2013 and 2014. Students’ academic performance was assessed by biannual grade point average (GPA) score and GPA in the preclinical phase (second to fourth grade) was used for this study. We used group‐based trajectory modeling to categorize students’ GPA trajectories into different groups. A multinomial logistic regression model was fit to examine associations between students’ individual and school factors, and odds of being assigned to certain GPA groups. Results GPA trajectories of dental students were classified into 4 different groups. Students’ past academic performance in high school was associated with lower GPA trajectories and withdrawal or repeating years. Males were significantly associated with lower GPA trajectories and withdrawal or repeating years, even after adjusting for past academic performance. Conclusions Past lower academic performance and being male were positively associated with lower academic performance trajectories in Japanese dental students.