Supervisory Practices in Dental Program: Basis for a Proposed Supervisory Model

Introduction Ineffective supervisory practices can be one of the possible causes of poor students’ academic performance. The aim of supervision is basically to promote student’s learning, reflective practice and improving patient safety and the quality of patient care. To date, there have been limited studies on the supervisory practices in the dentistry program. This prompted the researcher to assess their supervisory practices. The respondents’ supervisory practices will practically serve as a basis for a proposed a supervisory model that can be helpful for the dental institutions in the future. Supervisory models aim to improve faculty member’s performances and provide them with the assistance that they need for the improvement of instruction as well as to provide quality education for the students. Methods The study used descriptive research method. Qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were employed. A researcher-made questionnaire was used in gathering data for the study. Deans, Academic heads, Department heads or Section heads and faculty members from the selected private dental institutions in National Capital Region were selected as the respondents of the study. Results and Discussion The main findings of the study indicated that for instructional supervision in terms of instructional improvement, offering continuing professional development trainings for the faculty members at school level got the highest mean. On the other hand, for curriculum development, highest is on identifying the problems in the implementation of existing. Results for clinical dentistry supervision in terms of instructional improvement indicated that offering continuing professional development trainings for the clinical instructors at school level also obtained the highest mean. Curriculum development contributes in the professional competencies of clinical instructors by providing the latest information on materials as evidenced by the highest mean obtained. With regard to community dentistry supervision in terms of instructional improvement, highest mean is on offering continuing professional development trainings for the fieldwork preceptors at school level. Lastly, in terms of curriculum development, highest is on the indicator on helping in the identification of the problems in the implementation of the existing policies in the community outreach. The study further revealed that continuing professional development for faculty members is of utmost importance to the deans and academic heads. Finally, there is a felt need to help the faculty members in the selection of appropriate resources like teaching aids. The deans and academic heads of the different dental institutions address the problems in the delivery of instructions. There is a need to convene the stakeholders in a meeting for curriculum evaluation and validation. Providing feedback is needed particularly in the fieldwork preceptors on the service rendered. Based on the findings and conclusions, it is therefore recommended to strengthen the offering of professional development as a part of the instructional supervision of the administrators and inclusion of the variables in the continuing professional development of the faculty and explore the possibilities of convening the stakeholders regularly for curriculum evaluation and validation. Further studies should also be done in order to validate and evaluate the proposed supervisory model.