The Students’ Opinion about Islamic Thoughts Courses in Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in 2008-2009

Abstract

Introduction : Continuous evaluation of Islamic Thoughts courses and revising the course delivery methods are necessary to make the courses more efficient to meet the needs of the youth, and to transmit the Islamic values to the students. Due to the necessity of curriculum evaluation, this study aimed at determining the students’ attitude about the Islamic Thought courses. Methods: In a descriptive study, the population of students studying in Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in 2008-2009 was involved. Through census sampling, 549 students who had enrolled in Islamic Thoughts courses I and II, took part in the study and filled out a researcher made questionnaire. To analyze the data, in addition to descriptive statistics, chi-square, Kruskal Wallis, and Mann-Whitney U tests were employed to compare subjects’ viewpoints based on qualitative variables (nominative and ordinal). Results: The mean age of participants was 20.79 ± 2.59, and 68.9% (378) of the subjects were female. Findings indicated that 87.3% (479) of the students were satisfied with the Islamic Thoughts books, the related instructors, their positive effects on the students, and the university educational planning for these courses. Also, there was no significant difference between students’ opinions regarding their gender and study major. Conclusion : In spite of positive viewpoints of students toward various aspects of these courses, the negative points should also be acknowledged to eliminate the defects. Since students’ needs are changing, the books and educational methods should be also revised accordingly.

Keywords

• islamic thought course
• educational evaluation
• students’ viewpoint
• religious education
• theology