Needs assessment in surgical undergraduate teaching in a South Asian cohort; implications for social, cultural and resource based adaptation of learning methods

Teaching and learning in higher education has undergone significant transformation during the past few decades. The novel concepts of student centred learning ha been accepted and adopted globally. However the evidence in this subject area is mainly derived from the western population. Research in the recent past has identified the conflicts of implementing these concepts across different cultures. A needs assessment was carried out amongst a cohort of medical undergrduates to regarding their lack of active participation in general in learning activities and small group discussions. Deficiency in language skills (34%), anxiety to make mistakes in public (46%) and reluctance to address the teachers directly (41%) were the leading reasons of lack of active participation. Several structural, resource and time related local factors were identified as reasons for poor contributions for the small group discussions. The student population however was more interested in conceptual learning versus an assessment-oriented teaching. The author discusses the requirement of cultural adaptation of the learning methods plus student orientation for higher education environment to suit socio-economic and cultural background of the locality based on these findings.