Survey of Student Views about Factors Affecting Student's Attendance in Classrooms in Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Absence of students from the classroom is one of the problems in the medical sciences in recent years. Failure to attend classes disrupts the dynamic teaching-learning environment and causes this environment to become boring and unpleasant. The aim of this study was to evaluate medical students'' views on factors affecting their presence in classrooms in Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences. Iran، in 2011. 288 students participated in this cross-sectional study. For data collection a questionnaire containing 28 questions in 5 Likert types was used. 215 female (74. 7%) and 73 male students (25. 3%) participated in this survey. 79% of participants were single. The highest score was in the area of teacher characteristics (0. 13 ± 0. 76). The next highest scores were the course features (0. 18 ± 0. 755)، physical environment (0. 17 ± 0. 747)، and the student characteristics (0. 14 ± 0. 747)، respectively. It can be concluded from the findings of this study that the most important factor involved in the increased attendance in classroom is teacher characteristics، such as the content presented in the classroom or the teacher''s interesting speech. Course features or class time are also important. Given this factor، we hope educators and planners improve the teaching and learning process through the increased presence in classrooms.