Assessment of Self-directed Learning (SDL) Readiness among Medical and Dental Students, in a Private University
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51985/JBUMDC2025585Keywords:
Continuing medical education, learning, medical students, dental studentsAbstract
Adult learners have the proven capability of self-directedness when provided with the appropriate learning environment. Self-directedness foster continuing medical education and stimulate medical students to become lifelong learners which is essential to provide evidence-based patient care.
Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess the self-directed learning readiness of students and identify the impact of student-centered teaching strategies on their readiness level.
Study Design & Setting: This study was conducted at 2 colleges of Ziauddin University. All students of 1st & 2nd year MBBS and BDS program were included in the study (N=325). This was a cross-sectional study conducted from May-June 2023, at the middle of the Professional Year.
Methodology: After taking the informed consent, students were provided with a valid questionnaire, based on a Likertscale, developed by Williamson, to measure students’ readiness for their SDL level.
Results: The response rate was 35% (n=114/325), with the majority of participants from the MBBS program (88.5%, n=101) and females (67.5%, n=77). The overall mean SDL readiness score was 234.58 (±23.94). Students form Year 1 and Year 2 both predominantly scored high levels (76.3%) with mean SDL scores of 233.5 (±24.56) and 235.2 (±23.63) respectively. The scores reflected the positive impact of student-centered teaching strategies that are being used in their curriculum.
Conclusion: Overall, the study supports the idea that active teaching methods significantly enhance self-directed learning readiness of students. This reinforces the importance of integrating such strategies into medical and dental education curricula to foster lifelong learning and independent knowledge acquisition
References
1. Bhandari B. Cultivating self-directed learning skills in the
budding doctors: An attempt to transform an ‘Indian medical
graduate’ into a ‘lifelong learner’. South-East Asian J Med
Educ. 2021;15(1). https://doi.org/10.4038/seajme.v15i1.366
2. Lu SY, Ren XP, Xu H, Han D. Improving self-directed learning
ability of medical students using the blended teaching method:
a quasi-experimental study. BMC Med Educ. 2023;23(1):616.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04565-x
3. Buch AC, Rathod H, Naik MD. Scope and challenges of selfdirected learning in undergraduate medical education: A
systematic review. J Med Educ. 2021;20(1). https://doi.org/10.
5812/jme.114077
4. Kemp K, Baxa D, Cortes C. Exploration of a collaborative
self-directed learning model in medical education. Med Sci
Educ. 2022;32(1):195-207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-
021-01493-7
5. Premkumar K, Vinod E, Sathishkumar S, Pulimood AB,
Umaefulam V, Prasanna Samuel P, John TA. Self-directed
learning readiness of Indian medical students: a mixed method
study. BMC Med Educ. 2018;18(1):1-0. https://doi.org/
10.1186/s12909-018-1244-9
6. van Woezik TE, Koksma JJ, Reuzel RP, Jaarsma DC, van der
Wilt GJ. There is more than ‘I’ in self-directed learning: an
exploration of self-directed learning in teams of undergraduate
students. Med Teach. 2021;43(5):590-8. https://doi.org/10.1080
/0142159x.2021.1885637
7. Al Kindy S, Al Kindy F, Al Kindy A. The Advantages and
Disadvantages of Self-Directed Learning: A Survey Study of
Saudi Medical Students. Med Ed Publish. 2018;7:58.
https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2018.0000058.1
8. Anil D, Kumar DS, Murthy MR. Self-directed learning: The
impact among medical students. J Med Educ Dev.
2023;16(50):21-7. https://doi.org/10.32592/jmed.2023.16.50.21
9. Kidane HH, Robertson H, Van der Vleuten CP. Students’
perceptions towards self-directed learning in Ethiopian medical
schools with new innovative curriculum: a mixed-method
study. BMC Med Educ. 2020;20(1):1-0. https://doi.org/10.1186
/s12909-019-1924-0
10. Yang C, Zhu Y, Jiang H, Qu B. Influencing factors of selfdirected learning abilities of medical students of mainland
China: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2021;11(10)
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-051590
11. Dulloo P, Singh S, Vedi N, Singh P. Development and
implementation of a self-directed learning readiness scale for
undergraduate health professional students. J Educ Health
Promot. 2023;12(1):43. https://doi.org/10.4103/ jehp.jehp_
900_22
12. Williamson SN. Development of a self-rating scale of selfdirected learning. Nurse Res. 2007;14(2):66-83. https://doi.org/
10.7748/nr2007.01.14.2.66.c6022
13. Roberts M, Darden A, Wiskur B, Hill M. A longitudinal
assessment of self-directed learning readiness and development
in medical students. J Med Educ Curric Dev. 2024;11:
23821205241242261. https://doi.org/10.1177 /23821205241
242261
14. Patra S, Khan AM, Upadhyay MK, Sharma R, Rajoura OP,
Bhasin SK. Module to facilitate self-directed learning among
medical undergraduates: Development and implementation.
J Educ Health Promot. 2020;9. https://doi.org/10.4103/
jehp.jehp_125_20
15. Moore RL. Developing lifelong learning with heutagogy:
contexts, critiques, and challenges. Distance Educ.
2020;41(3):381-401. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/
10.1080/01587919.2020.1766949?needAccess=true
16. Liu TH, Sullivan AM. A story half told: a qualitative study
of medical students’ self-directed learning in the clinical
setting. BMC Med Educ. 2021;21:1-1.https://doi.org/10.1186
/s12909-021-02913-3
17. Ginzburg SB, Santen SA, Schwartzstein RM. Self-directed
learning: a new look at an old concept. Med Sci Educ.
2021;31:229-30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-020-01121-
w
18. Shankar R, Bajracharya O, Jha N, Gurung SB, Ansari SR,
Thapa HS. Change in medical students' readiness for selfdirected learning after a partially problem-based learning firstyear curriculum at the KIST medical college in Lalitpur,
Nepal. Educ Health. 2011;24(2):552. https://doi.org/10.4103/
1357-6283.101434
19. Bhandari B, Chopra D, Singh K. Self-directed learning:
assessment of students’ abilities and their perspective. Adv
Physiol Educ. 2020;44(3):383-6. https://doi.org/10.1152
/advan.00010.2020
20. Pakistan Medical and Dental Council. Accreditation standards
inspection proforma for medical college (150 MBBS students)
– 2024 [Internet]. Islamabad: PMDC; 2024 [cited 2025 Jul
1].
21. Hill M, Peters M, Salvaggio M, Vinnedge J, Darden A.
Implementation and evaluation of a self-directed learning
activity for first-year medical students. Med Educ Online.
2020;25(1):1717780. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 10872981.2020.
1717780
22. Ali A, Khan S, et al. Readiness for self-directed learning
among undergraduate medical students in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa during COVID 19, Pakistan. BMC Med Educ.
2025;25(1):165 ttps://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186
/s12909-025-06745-3.pdf
23. Long HB, Agyekum SK. Guglielmino's self-directed learning
readiness scale: A validation study. High Educ. 1983;12:77–87.
https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00140273
24. Zeb S, Yusuf S, Mahmood RA, Zeb R. Gender-based
differences in self-directed learning readiness amongst medical
students of Pakistan. Rawal Med J. 2018;43(4):754-64.
https://rmj.org.pk/fulltext/27-1513249793.pdf
25. Cadorin L, Cheng SF, Palese A. Concurrent validity of selfrating scale of self-directed learning and self-directed learning
instrument among Italian nursing students. BMC Nurs.
2016;15(1):1-0. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-016-0142-x
26. Kar SS, Premarajan KC, Ramalingam A, Iswarya S, Sujiv A,
Subitha L. Self-directed learning readiness among fifth
semester MBBS students in a teaching institution of South
India. Educ Health. 2014;27(3):289-92. https://doi.org/10.4103
/1357-6283.152193
27. Fisher M, King J, Tague G. Development of a self-directed
learning readiness scale for nursing education. Nurse Educ
Today. 2001;21(7):516-25. https://doi.org/10.1054 /nedt.
2001.0589
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Journal of Bahria University Medical & Dental College is an open access journal and is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. which permits unrestricted non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
