Dental Hygiene Educator's Awareness, Lived Experiences and Perceptions of Accreditor's Revised Standards on Coordination and Calibration: A Mixed Method Study

Since the 1970s, research has shown negative trends in teachers delivering inconsistent (uncoordinated) instructional guidance and inaccurate (uncalibrated) grading outcomes among medical and dental students, which were harmful teaching practices directly impeding student learning progressions. The problem addressed by this study was that many dental hygiene (DH) program leaders had reported challenges, unsustainability, and elusive positive outcomes while attempting to train faculty teams in coordination and calibration (C&C), a Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) standard to be met with documented compliance. The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed-method study was to quantitatively measure a purposeful sample of CODA-accredited DH program leaders and faculty in the United States and Canada regarding their awareness levels of accreditor standards about C&C and to qualitatively understand their lived experiences of their C&C trainings. The theoretical frameworks used were Knowles' adult learning theory, Bloom's taxonomy, and Miller's prism of clinical competence. Four research questions guided a quantitative survey and a qualitative focus group for two data sets, with results subdivided by leader and faculty perceptions. Results showed that seasoned DH leaders held the most substantial CODA awareness levels, but awareness did not fully equate to understanding measured improvement evidence for quality assurance. New DH leaders, full-time faculty, and adjunct faculty desired more substantial awareness levels but encountered barriers. Common barriers included lack of time, scheduling conflicts, and lack of compensation uniquely perceived by each group. Clinical courses were identified as most vulnerable to uncalibrated exchanges. Most participants identified the lack of coordination and calibration as root causes of student complaints, unsustainable outcomes, and incohesive relationships. Fourteen recommendations for practice were presented. Future research is necessary on this topic. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]