Examining How Dental Students Perceive Their Racial/Ethnic Campus Climate

• In Event: Common Ground on Diversity: Research on Inclusiveness in Professions Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to examine dental student perceptions and experiences of the racial/ethnic environment of their educational programs. Revealing how dental students experience racial/ethnic diversity will provide dental healthcare educators insight to the structural and cultural barriers which exist and that may impede a sense of inclusion for racial/ethnic minority students. These student perceptions could also have implications for future research such as the potential socializing effects that the racial/ethnic environment may have on dental students. The research questions that will be addressed in this study are:
1. How do dental students perceive and experience their campus climate for diversity?
2. Do these perceptions and experiences vary by race?

Author

• Anthony Palatta, American Dental Education Association