Comparing the Curriculum of Five Specialized Fields of Dentistry in Iran and 10 Top Faculties of the World

Abstract

Introduction:: A curriculum is the general and immense outline of a training activity. The curriculum design determines student assessment and evaluation of the program, and ultimately defines the framework for each activity in the training period. On the other hand, regarding the importance of training in medical sciences, especially dentistry, the present study was conducted with the aim of “investigating the curriculum of some of the specialized fields of dentistry PhD in Iran and some top faculties of the world”. This project is along with “accountable and justice-centered education” and “moving towards third-generation universities” and the package of “developing and upgrading medical education infrastructure”. These packages further emphasize the implementation of policies number 1 (institutionalization of accountable education approach in the health system) and number 12 (the production and localization of credible scientific evidence to promote high-quality health education [research-based training]).

Methods:: In a descriptive-sectional study, the important components and parameters of the curriculum of ten international and Iranian dentistry PhD faculties were purposefully selected and investigated. The study was conducted in two phases: the first one included a study to find the 10 top dental faculties in the world that have been credible and pioneer in dentistry education, which was conducted in four phases, and the second phase identified and examined different components of the PhD curriculum (objectives and mission, general structure and educational content, duration of the training period and certificates) in each five fields of study in the assigned top ten faculties and Iran.

Results:: Investigation of the intended curriculum characteristics of top 10 out of 50 dental faculties showed that curriculum review was performed in most faculties and curriculums with updated content and structure were used. Likewise, the results of this study have determined that regarding goals and mission, and Iranian universities compared to the credible universities of the world, had more comprehensive goals in all mentioned fields, and would receive a PhD certificate in Iran.

Conclusion:: In most of the studied dental faculties, for prominence in the research field which was emphasized by international academic ranking systems, there were several factors influencing the success of training scope such as the presentation and educational mission of diverse curricula, their rich content and appropriate length of terms.