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4.9.1 Management vs Leadership

While management and leadership are intertwined and used broadly in the literature, both terms have different definitions and implications in the

educational context. Table 4.6 provides a comparison between management and leadership based on the literature (Maccoby 2000; Townsend et al. 2008; Certosimo 2010).

These features imply that management relates to ‘doing things right’ or to ensuring that things have been done appropriately. In contrast, leadership focus on ‘doing the right things’ or to gear the organisation, processes, and development to the right direction in order to achieve the ultimate goals. Indeed, dental education requires people who are both managers and leaders for the sustainable development of dental professionals.

Developing a new dental curriculum to meet global standards requires skills of decision making, managing conflict (Oliver et al. 2008). Curriculum

development and implementation usually involve a large number of

stakeholders; hence, dental educators are required to possess leadership and management skills. These skills also can contribute toward quality improvement in dental education (Haden et al. 2006). In a broader aspect, Townsend et al. (2008) demonstrate that in order to balance the five roles of a dental school (education, research, professional-based function, oral health service, and administration), dental educators who are able to lead and manage all aspects of dental education are required.

4.9.2 Management and Leadership Issues in Dental

Education

Global collaboration and mobility require dental institutions to share their resources including academic staff, so there is a need for dental educators who are able to work in different cultures and contexts and manage their career to support the global requirement (Corbet et al. 2008). The reduction in funding and support for dental education forces dental educators to access alternative sources of grant or sponsorship to support their teaching,

research, and career development (Albino 1999).

Recently, most dental schools are facing the problem that, for various reasons, the number of dental academic staff is decreasing (e.g. lack of

interest in academic job, high workload, unsupportive tenure and promotional system) (Martin et al. 2010). Supportive systems, short-term, and long-term solutions are required to overcome this problem. Within the process of

change and development in dental education, good management is essential for supporting the organisation, helping people overcome the change, and minimising resistance to change (Cohen 2005; Hayes 2007). Dental

educators require not only educational competences to support their teaching roles, but also management skills to enable themselves and to help others to overcome change and development in dental education.

The need for leadership arises from a background of financial constraint. HE has gradually received less support from the government and a large number of dental schools now face fiscal pressures (Nash and Brown 2012). This financial constraint has been accompanied by increasing demands on dental education budgets, arising from, for example, advances in educational

technology, curriculum revision (Albino 1999). At the same time, society demands more accountability from dental education. In combination, these elements (increased demands on a constrained budget coupled with greater accountability) create institutional and professional challenge and threatens to compromise the quality of dental education. This context demands leaders who are able to address this problem and gear dental education to be more productive and accountable to societal needs (Roth 2007; Certosimo 2010)

To overcome this challenge, leaders in dental education should be able to: lead an organisation in uncertain circumstances; build good relationships and collaborations within and beyond an organisation; and give emphasis to the institution’s vision, missions, and outcomes (Albino 1999). Additionally, being a good role model in academic, healthcare, and institutional contexts as well as being an effective communicator able to inspire people in the organisation are important capabilities (Certosimo 2010).

4.9.3 Student Admission

As discussed in Chapter 2, competence is used not only for framing the process, (teaching/learning/assessment) but also for defining the input that includes the student admission and selecting process. The competence or learning outcome helps identify the kind of students who have the desirable characteristics of a good professional and have potential to be successful in the curriculum (Harden et al. 1999; Sefton 2004).

Previous literature mainly focused on the predictors of performance and measurement (e.g. prior academic performance, psychometric tests, skills and dexterity tests, interviews), the selection process (e.g. setting criteria), or recent admission trends (Duguid and Drummond 2000; Gaengler et al. 2002; Lopez et al. 2003; Ranney et al. 2005; Itaya et al. 2008). However, these predictors may not be the best indicators for student selection. For example, a study by Lynch et al. (2006) reveals that there is no association between student prior academic performance and their performance at the final dental examination; although, the study is limited to the one Irish dental school.

Recently, multiple mini-interviews (MMIs) are used for the student admission process in health professional education. By allowing candidates rotate around the series of questions, it is possible to assess candidates’

competences in different areas (Pau et al. 2013). MMIs were found the be reliable, accurate, and high acceptability for using in medical and dental education (O'Brien et al. 2011; McAndrew and Ellis 2012). However, no study has investigated how student admission or MMIs can be used to recruit students who possess characteristics of a good leader and manager, which are essential for the future of the dental professional.

4.9.4 Implications for Dental Educators

Due to the recent constraints and need for leadership and management in dental education (Albino 1999; Corbet et al. 2008; Certosimo 2010), dental educators were urged to acquire essential skills to ensure that they are able to support the change and development in dental education. However,

although the topics of leadership and management have been a fundamental part of an UG-curriculum (Sanz et al. 2008; Cowpe et al. 2010), it is not necessary that educators (who are dental practitioners) can fully transfer leadership and management skills to the educational contexts. Additionally, some educators are not part of the dental profession so they might not have fully understanding of the nature of UG-DentalEduc. The above discussion raises a question on what competences relating to leadership and

management which dental educators need to develop.

In terms of student admission, it is essential to develop an appropriate admission and selecting system which enable a dental school to select and recruit students who have the potential characteristics and attributes of an effective leader. However, one might argue that not all educators get involved in student admission and selection process. This notion raises additional questions on (1) who need understanding of the issue relating to student admission and (2) what aspects of student admission of which dental educators need to be aware.