The role of the teacher according to the perceptions of dentistry students

Abstract

Higher Education teaching and learning strategies must be revised due to the demands of a dynamic society and to the implementation of national curricular guidelines. Within this context, we analyzed the perceptions of dentistry undergraduate students of Universidade Estadual de Londrina regarding the role of the teacher in the teaching and learning process. A qualitative research was carried out, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Results showed that the teacher plays an essential role in the teaching and learning process. Undergraduate education in dentistry can be defined as a liberal professional educational system; teaching and learning strategies are based on the oral transmission of information, and evaluation is carried out through theoretical and practical traditional tests. In conclusion, findings from this study have shown the need of changes in the undergraduate level, so that dentistry professionals can be educated in a general, humanist, critical and reflexive way.