Dental Students’ Attendance - Does It Depend on the Mode of Attendance Tracking?

Oct 15, 2026

The study examines whether dental students’ attendance in classroom lectures depends on how attendance is tracked at two Saudi dental schools. An observational cross-sectional survey collected demographic data, travel time, attitudes toward lectures, and reasons for absenteeism from 1,153 students. Data were summarized with frequencies and analyzed using the chi-square test. Results show significant attendance differences between schools, with commuting time, online lecture access, and exam study needs as key influences. Findings suggest tracking methods may shape absenteeism patterns.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Material and Methods

Findings

Attendance Differences by School

Factors Affecting Attendance

Implications for Research and Practices

DOI: 10.20535/2410-8286 .217893 DOES DENTAL STUDENTS' ATTENDANCE IN CLASSROOM LECTURES DEPEND ON THE MODE OF ATTENDANCE TRACKING? Hani Mawardi 1 (Corresponding author), Waad Alharbi2, Waleed Alamoudi3, Osama Felemban4, Soulafa Almazrooa5, Emad Alhadlag6 1,2,3,4,5King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Dentistry, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 6King Saud University, Faculty of Dentistry, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [hmawardi@kau.edu.sa](hmawardi@kau.edu.sa) Purpose: The necessity to attend classroom lectures is a disputable topic among dental schools globally. Since there is an ongoing debate on different aspects of this problem in literature, the purpose of this study was to compare students’ attitudes toward classroom attendance and investigate if stricter attendance tracking methods could lead to better classroom attendance at two dental schools utilising different modes of tracking students’ attendance. Method: This was an observational, cross-sectional survey distributed among dental students enrolled at King Abdul-Aziz University (KAU) and King Saud University (KSU) in Saudi Arabia. The survey included questions on demographics, average travel time, student's attitudes toward classroom lectures and common reasons for absenteeism. Collected data were analysed and summarised as frequencies and percentages and then compared using the Chi-square test for statistical significance. Findings: The study involved 678 participants from KAU and 475 participants from KSU. In general, there was a significant difference in students’ attendance between both schools in which 26.8% of KAU dental students skipped 5 or more lectures/month compared to 11.5% of students at KSU. Among the factors affecting classroom lecture attendance, commuting time was a major one reported by students (44.8% of students at KSU and 51.4% at KAU needed 30-60 min to reach their schools) . The availability of lectures through online resources and the necessity to study for exams were additional factors reported by students of both schools. Implications for research and practices: Based on the current data, the school’s method to track students’ attendance may have a role in the pattern of classroom absenteeism. Keywords: dental students; attendance; lectures; classroom; tracking; absenteeism. Introduction The necessity to attend in-class lectures has been a controversial topic among dental educators triggered by the change in dental students’ generational change and attitudes combined with the recent schools’ investmentsand shift toward virtual learning during the time of COVID-19 outbreak (Stewart, Stott, & Nuttall, 2011) . Student’ absenteeism patterns vary between dental institutes with no official data or literature to assess the magnitude of this phenomenon and its impact on dental education (Desalegn, Berhan, & Berhan, 2014) . Factors such as the school adopted curriculum, lecturer’s attitude, students’ lack of motivation or interest towards specific subject have been linked to classroom absence reported in the medical literature (Alhabi et al., 2017; Moore, Armstrong, & Pearson, 2008) . In the study by Waleed et al. (unpublished data), the experience of a single dental school was reported which showed that daily travel time and early morning classes are the two major reasons for dental students to skip classroom lectures. Several recommendations were suggested to address this issue which included modifications to the academic timetable, improvement of educators’ presentation skills and wider implementation of technological advancement in teaching (Alhabi, 2017; Cook, 2005) . As of today, many dental schools continue to mandate students’ traditional presence in-class. However, implementing optional attendance can also be viewed as a possible alternative. On the one hand, a more flexible students` attendance policy could have a negative effect on the educational process with the compromised learning experience, lack of in-class interactive discussions and

FAQs

Which factors most affected lecture attendance according to the findings?

Commuting time was a major reported factor, and students also cited the availability of lectures via online resources and the need to study for exams.

Oct 15, 2026

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