| dc.description.abstract | SUMMARY
This study has shown that the environment in which a dentist receives his training, has, over
the past decades, changed drastically, and is still changing. Also, that the existing
curriculum model, in use in most dental faculties, is an anachronism and that the sands of
time for a paradigm shift in terms of the curriculum, are fast running out. It follows,
therefore, that the curriculum, training and evaluation programmes will, without delay, have
to undergo changes in order to fulfil the requirements of the community in general and the
clients of the Faculty in particular. In addition, adjustments in terms of the numbers and
types of dental manpower to be trained, will have to be made.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the management of dental education as a critical
performance area and to develop a curriculum at the macro-level for three cadres of dental
manpower, which will fulfil certain identified requirements.
The curriculum model used in this study, should ideally fit in with the organisational structure
of the Faculty. Therefore, this organisational structure was investigated and found to consist
of a mixture of a "machine" and a "professional bureaucracy". It was also demonstrated that
the disadvantages of this bureaucratic hybrid could be counteracted, whilst still retaining the
advantages of the existing system, by the implementation of an "adhocracy" in the form of
a matrix-functioning system.
A management manual, essential for the effective functioning of a matrix system, which had
already been developed for the management of teaching in the Faculty of Dentistry of the
University of Pretoria, was found to be suitable, not only for this purpose, but also as a basis
for future strategic planning in teaching.
The rationale for the necessity of altering the traditional dental curriculum is given in the
thesis and three strategies are recommended for solving the problem. Curriculum designs
were carefully scrutinized and the most important of these relating to dental education, as well
as the ideal positioning in terms of the SPICES curriculum strategy, have been indicated.
Basic premises, with their priorities and weighted values, developed for this study were
utilised in comparing the traditional model with the proposed diagonally-layered curriculum
design. This proposed curriculum design, and subject structure, is illustrated in detail with
the aid of diagrams.
An empirical comparison showed that the proposed diagonally-layered curriculum would be
an improvement on the traditional curriculum in terms of: professional and market orientation,
the promotion of meta-learning, the support of teaching and evaluation, the early exposure
of students to preventive clinical dentistry, the promotion of horizontal and vertical integration
of various subjects and courses, rationalisation of the curriculum, easier "through-flow"
possibilities for oral hygienists and dental therapists, as well as practical implementation and
cost effectiveness. | en_US |
