An investigation of computer literacy and attitudes

amongst Greek post-graduate dental students

Kimon Divaris1, Argy Polychronopoulou1 and Nikos Mattheos2

1Department of Preventative and Community Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Athens, Greece, 2Faculty of Odontology, University of Malmo,Sweden and Department of Periodontology and Fixed Prosthodontics, University of Bern, Switzerland

An accurate assessment of the computer skills of students is apre-requisite for the success of any e-learning interventions. The

aim of the present study was to assess objectively the computerliteracy and attitudes in a group of Greek post-graduate students,

using a task-oriented questionnaire developed and validated inthe University of Malmo, Sweden. 50 post-graduate students in

the Athens University School of Dentistry in April 2005 took partin the study. A total competence score of 0—49 was calculated.

Socio-demographic characteristics were recorded. Attitudestowards computer use were assessed. Descriptive statistics

and linear regression modeling were employed for data analysis.Total competence score was normally distributed (Shapiro–Wilk

test: W ¼ 0.99, V ¼ 0.40, P ¼ 0.97) and ranged from 5 to 42.5,with a mean of 22.6 (±8.4). Multivariate analysis revealed

‘gender’, ‘e-mail ownership’ and ‘enrollment in non-clinicalprograms’ as significant predictors of computer literacy. Conclu-

sively, computer literacy of Greek post-graduate dental studentswas increased amongst males, students in non-clinical programs

and those with more positive attitudes towards the implementa-tion of computer assisted learning.

Key words: computer literacy; assessment; attitudes; computerassisted instruction; post-graduate students.

ª 2007 The Authors. Journal Compilation ª 2007 Blackwell

MunksgaardAccepted for publication, 17 October 2006

Introduction

T he effective use of Computers and Information

and Communication Technology (ICT) has

become a necessary competence for the oral healthcare

professional and student. Numerous consensus docu-

ments place a strong emphasis in generic and field-

specific computer literacy, especially within the field

of academic oral healthcare education (1, 2).

Despite its widely accepted importance, computer

access and computer related skills continue to present

a wide diversity, both regional but also within

students and academics of the same institution (3–5).

This diversity constitutes not only a practical but also

a political problem, as it could broaden inequalities

amongst future professionals and consequently

healthcare services available at a European level (2).

It is also well evident that the lack of the necessary

computer skills can jeopardise even very well planned

Computer Assisted Learning interventions. With such

a diversity of computer literacy amongst students and

staff present, Universities which want to utilise ICT

effectively for enhancing teaching and learning are

faced with the challenge to offer individualised

remedial support, based on the actual computer

literacy of each student. This could be made possible

through group instruction of various levels or spe-

cially designed modules of self-study (1).

However, a first necessary step of this process is an

accurate and realistic assessment of the actual com-

puter skills of the student. Such an assessment could

then determine the need for and the kind of remedial

support. Early ‘diagnostic’ attempts on this field relied

heavily on self-assessment and ordinal scales (6–8), yet

these findings were hard to interpret to actual com-

petencies and needs. In addition it was often observed

that students tended to overestimate their competence

(8, 9).

In response to this need, a task-oriented question-

naire was developed in the University of Malmo (10),

aiming to assess quickly and objectively the level of

computer literacy of dental students, as well as

investigate some main attitudes towards computer

assisted learning. This way, the results could be

comparable with other groups, but also provide

directions for the planning of individual remedial

support if needed. The questionnaire has been repeat-

edly used with in-campus (11) and distance students,

144

Eur J Dent Educ 2007; 11: 144–147All rights reserved

ª 2007 The Authors. Journal Compilation ª 2007 Blackwell Munksgaard

euro pean journal of

Dental Education

as well as dental educators at an international level

(10). However, it has not been applied to post-

graduate students as yet.

The aim of the present study was to investigate

computer literacy and attitudes in a group of Greek

post-graduate students.

Materials and Methods

The above mentioned task-oriented questionnaire (10)

was distributed to 50 randomly selected full-time post-

graduate students enrolled in research and/or clinical

specialty programs in Athens University School of

Dentistry in April 2005. A total competence score of

0—49 was calculated based on the sum of all

positively identified competences. Socio-demographic

characteristics were recorded. Further, attitudes to-

wards computer use were assessed with the use of a

5-item Likert scale; more specifically, students repor-

ted their level of agreement or disagreement (strongly

disagree, disagree, neither agree nor disagree, agree

and strongly agree) with 3 statements concerning the

necessity and value of computer literacy and compu-

ter assisted learning applications for both dental

profession and education (Table 2).

Descriptive statistics and linear regression modeling

were employed for data analysis.

Results

Forty-four post-graduate students responded to the

survey, resulting in a response rate of 88%. The mean

age of the participants was 28.5 years. Further demo-

graphic characteristics as well as other computer related

variables of the student sample are described in Table 1.

Total competence score was normally distributed

(Shapiro-Wilk test: W ¼ 0.99, V ¼ 0.40, P ¼ 0.97) and

ranged from 5 to 42.5, with a mean of 22.6 (±8.4).

Noteworthy, for the 3 computer attitude related

items no negative response was recorded; the latter

ranged from ‘neither agree nor disagree’ to ‘strongly

agree’, whereas their distribution is presented in

Figures 1–3.

Demographic and computer related variables, as

well as computer attitude scores derived from the

ordinal scales for the three relevant questions were

used in linear regression models as independent

predictors for competence score. As shown in Table 2,

males, as well as those having an active e-mail account

had significantly higher competence score. Multi-

variate analysis relied on stepwise multiple linear

TABLE 1. Demographic and other computer-related variables ofthe 44 graduate students

n (%)

GenderFemales 24 (54.6)Males 20 (45.4)

Age (years)<28 19 (43.2)28—30 13 (29.5)>30 12 (27.3)

Program typeClinical 30 (68.2)Non-clinical 14 (31.8)

Computer classesYes 12 (27.3)No 32 (72.7)

E-mail accountYes 42 (95.4)No 2 (4.6)

Computer typeLaptop only 8 (18.2)Desktop only 24 (54.5)Laptop and Desktop 12 (27.3)

Total 44 (100.0)

25

37

Neither agree nor disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

Fig 1. Distribution of Q1 answers.

5

10

29

Neither agree nor disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

Fig 3. Distribution of Q3 answers.

3

6

35

Neither agree nor disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

Fig 2. Distribution of Q2 answers.

Computer literacy among Greek post-graduates

145

regression and was used for the calculation of the final

multiplicative model for competence score prediction

(Table 3). In this final model, ‘gender’ and ‘e-mail

ownership’ factors remained significant; additionally,

it was revealed that enrollment in non-clinical pro-

grams, and more positive attitudes towards the

implementation of computer assisted modules as

supplementary tools of learning, were also associated

with increased computer competence score.

Discussion

The nature and composition of the sample, which

consisted of graduate dental students in Athens dental

school, located in South Eastern Europe may limit the

potential for generalisation of the study’s findings. It is

however, the first attempt to assess computer literacy

objectively levels in a group of European post-graduate

dental students, who comprise an active and vital part

in a dental faculty’s research and teaching activities.

The graduate students’ mean competence score of

22.6 (±8.4) is higher compared to scores of dental

educators (20.7 ± 9.9) and first year Swedish under-

graduates (18.1 ± 8.5) found in the study of Mattheos

et al, and is above the lower level set by questionnaire

designers as the necessary skill, which is 22 for

educators and 20 for students. (10) The group’s mean

competence score however, ranging from 5 to 42.5,

conceals a significant diversity of computer literacy in

TABLE 2. Univariate models for compet-ence score prediction

n

Competence score

P value�Mean

Range

Minimum Maximum

GenderFemales 24 20.0 5 42.5 *Males 20 25.8 6 37.5

Age (years)<28 19 20.8 12 34.5 N.S.28—30 13 23.7 5 42.5‡30 12 24.4 13 37.5

Program typeClinical 30 21.2 6 37.5 N.S.Non-clinical 14 25.7 5 42.5

Computer classesYes 12 22.0 12 42.5 N.S.No 32 22.9 5 37.5

E-mail accountYes 42 23.2 5 42.5 *No 2 11.0 6 16.0

Computer attitudeQ1�

Neither agree nor disagree 2 19.8 5 34.5 N.S.Agree 5 26.2 17.5 42.5Strongly agree 37 22.3 6 37.5

Q2��Neither agree nor disagree 3 13.3 5 19.0 N.S.Agree 6 23.9 12 42.5Strongly agree 35 23.2 6 37.5

Q3 ���Neither agree nor disagree 5 16.4 5 25.0 N.S.Agree 10 21.9 6 42.5Strongly agree 29 24.0 12 37.5

�Linear regression; *P < 0.05; N.S., non-significant. �Q1, Basic computer literacy isa necessary skill/competence for the dentist. �Q2, Basic computer literacy shouldbe part of every modern undergraduate dental program. �Q3, Computer assistedlearning (CAL) applications and web based learning can effectively supplement thetraditional undergraduate dental curriculum.

TABLE 3. Final multiplicative model for competence score prediction

Reference category Beta coefficient Standard error t P value�

Gender Females 7.9 2.0 3.9 **Program type Clinical 4.5 2.1 2.1 *E-mail account No 17.4 4.9 3.6 **Computer attitude (Q3��� score) continuous 3.9 1.4 2.7 *

�Stepwise multiple linear regression; *P < 0.05; **P < 10)3.

Kimon Divaris et al.

146

the examined group. The latter is in agreement with

previous research demonstrating extreme variances in

computer competence amongst students and educa-

tors (4, 10). Furthermore, 13 (30%) respondents had a

sub-20 score. This constitutes a challenge for dental

schools, where use of ICT is incorporated in the

curriculum, and a certain level of computer compet-

ence is required by graduate students who, as men-

tioned above, apart from being involved in clinical

work and/or research, may have teaching or mentor-

ing duties. A gender differentiation which was previ-

ously found (10) was confirmed by the results of the

present study, as male students had significantly

higher computer literacy scores when compared to

their female peers (P < 10)3).

A positive observation is that all but two of the

respondents had active e-mail accounts and 27.3% of

them had computer operation courses outside the

framework of dental education. Furthermore, the pos-

itive attitudes towards the necessity and value of IT for

the practicing dentist as well as an important educa-

tional supplement in the dental curriculum were

reaffirmed by the fact that two-thirds or more of the

graduate students strongly agreed with the three

statements, whereas no negative response was given.

This may imply that the examined student sample

presents a prosperous field for the development and

implementation of computer based innovations in the

dental school setting.

The inclusion of routine and standardised measure-

ment of computer literacy into the study curricula

appears a necessity (4, 10, 12) to refine computer

assisted learning modules and educational interven-

tions, and to individualise supplementary courses for

the improvement of informatics competence. Such an

educational intervention is described in the study of

Samuel et al, where a pilot scheme including peer

mentoring succeeded in increasing the computer

literacy of medical undergraduates (13).

Conclusively, the results of the present study

demonstrate that computer literacy of Greek graduate

dental students was increased amongst males, stu-

dents in non-clinical programs and those with more

positive attitudes towards the implementation of

computer assisted modules as supplementary tools

of learning.

References

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10. Mattheos N, Schittek MJ, Nattestad A, Shanley D,Attstrom R. A comparative evaluation of computerliteracy amongst dental educators and students. Eur JDent Educ 2005: 9: 32–36.

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Address:

Dr Nikos Mattheos

Freiburgsstrasses 7

3010 Bern

Bern,

Switzerland

Tel: +41 31 63 28629;

Fax: +41 31 63 24915;

e-mail: nikolaos.mattheos@od.mah.se

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