Factors Affecting the Academic Achievement in Graduate degree programs and Postgraduate Courses from the Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontics Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University

Abstract

This examination of academic achievement has become an important instrument for studying and comparing the effectiveness of educational structures in graduate degree programs and postgraduate courses in the Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University. The data of this study came from a total of 62 graduate and postgraduate students from the academic year 2019; the sample size was 57 students. The data were collected in the form of a questionnaire following a content validity check from three experts. IOC values ranged from 0.67–1.00 and passed an experiment with 10 sixth year dental students that were a non-sample group to check for reliability. The confidence of the questionnaire was 0.96. The analyses used descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean and standard deviation, T-test, F-test, and one-way ANOVA at a significance level of 0.05. The analyses showed that there was a high level of influence on academic achievement among the students in both graduate programs and postgraduate courses based on factors such as curriculum, teachers, teaching and learning management, study success, and teaching media and equipment. Curriculum, teachers, and teaching and learning management had the highest level of influence, while study success, and teaching media and equipment had a high level of influence on academic achievement in graduate programs and postgraduate courses. The hypothesis analysis found that gender has an influence on the academic achievement in graduate programs and postgraduate courses at a significant level (p<0.05). For student age, major, curriculum, current affiliation, and work experience, there was no difference in academic achievement in graduate programs and postgraduate courses at the 0.05 level of significance (p>0.05).