Dental Student Perceptions of Learner Agency in Problem-Based Learning

Nidhi Gupta's qualitative study contains transcribed focus group discussions with 22 undergraduate dental students. The data explores student perceptions of how a Problem-Based Learning curriculum supports learner agency development. Discussions were conducted between September 2024 and March 2025 and analyzed thematically.

Use Cases

• Analyze transcribed focus group text for themes on motivation and self-efficacy as key elements of learner agency.
• Identify patterns in student-reported barriers like workload intensity and time management difficulties from qualitative responses.
• Code textual data to examine the role of peer collaboration and facilitator guidance as enablers of agency.
• Compare perceptions of goal setting and reflective practices between Year 2 and Year 3 student participants.

Strengths

• Data is sourced from 22 student participants in a targeted qualitative study.
• Includes verbatim transcriptions from four audio-recorded focus group sessions.
• Thematic analysis was performed using dedicated MAXQDA software.

Limitations

• Small sample size of 22 participants limits statistical generalizability.
• Qualitative textual data requires manual coding and interpretation for analysis.
• Findings are specific to a single dental program's PBL context.

Provenance

Source

Nidhi Gupta via figshare.

Collection Method

Purposive sampling and focus group discussions, transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically.

Time Range

Focus groups conducted September 2024 to March 2025.

Freshness

Data collection concluded in March 2025; dataset updated March 2026.

Geography

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