Division of Dental Hygiene, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, Kansas City, MO, USA.
Int J Dent Hyg. 2013 Nov;11(4):260-6. doi: 10.1111/idh.12015. Epub 2013 Feb 13.
Academic service learning (ASL) provides the venue for dental hygiene education to take oral healthcare services directly into communities while at the same time promoting professional responsibility within the student bodies. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively examine the change in pre-existing attitudes and behaviours of dental hygiene students following the incorporation of ASL activities throughout a five-semester dental hygiene curriculum.
Seventy-seven first-year dental hygiene students who participated in ASL from the graduating classes of 2008-2010 participated in the study. A survey instrument developed by Shiarella, based on Schwartz's Helping Behaviors Model, was used to assess students' attitudes towards community service. Additionally, questions were developed using Shinnamon's Methods and Strategies for Assessing Service-Learning in the Health Professions.
Internal estimates of reliability for scales (Cronbach's α) were all >0.8. The results revealed statistically significant improvements over time in enhanced learning (P = 0.0001), self-awareness (P = 0.0001), sense of volunteerism (P = 0.013), impact on career choices (P = 0.001) and decrease in personal costs (P = 0.0001). There were no significant changes in other subscales over time. Further investigating these domains revealed minimal to no changes in attributes of service learning.
Service learning integrated into the dental hygiene curriculum can enhance learning and improve students' self-awareness, sense of volunteerism, career choices and perception of personal costs. In concert with the literature on ASL, these experiences throughout the curriculum have potential for increasing students' awareness of community need and their roles as oral health professionals.
学术服务学习（ASL）为牙科卫生教育提供了场所，使学生能够将口腔保健服务直接带到社区，同时在学生群体中促进专业责任。本研究的目的是定量检查在整个五年制牙科卫生课程中纳入 ASL 活动后，牙科卫生学生先前存在的态度和行为的变化。
2008-2010 届毕业的 77 名参与 ASL 的一年级牙科卫生学生参加了这项研究。Shiarella 根据 Schwartz 的帮助行为模型开发的调查工具用于评估学生对社区服务的态度。此外，还使用 Shinnamon 的方法和策略为卫生专业人员评估服务学习开发了问题。
量表的内部可靠性估计值（Cronbach 的α）均>0.8。结果显示，随着时间的推移，学习效果（P=0.0001）、自我意识（P=0.0001）、志愿感（P=0.013）、对职业选择的影响（P=0.001）和个人成本降低（P=0.0001）都有统计学意义的提高。随着时间的推移，其他子量表没有显著变化。进一步调查这些领域发现，服务学习的属性几乎没有变化。
将服务学习纳入牙科卫生课程可以增强学习效果，提高学生的自我意识、志愿感、职业选择和个人成本意识。与 ASL 文献一致，这些课程中的体验有可能提高学生对社区需求的认识及其作为口腔健康专业人员的角色。
