Introduction
History of the Association
The Japanese Dental Education Association (hereinafter referred to as the “Association”) was established in 1982. On August 22nd of the same year, 118 attendees of the initial meeting of the Association, held at the Nippon Seinenkan Hall in Tokyo, approved the agenda items of the meeting, i.e., the proposed list of officers, the proposed Rules of the Association, the draft budget for fiscal 1982 and the proposed general meeting to be held the next year. On the same day, the first scientific meeting was held after the initial meeting, and Dr. Yojiro Kawamura, the first Chairman of the Association, delivered the keynote speech, “Giving thought to dental education in Japan – consideration on issues and measures.” Thereafter, 116 attendees became members of the Association, and the number of members in the first fiscal year was 234.
The prospectus of the Association includes the following description:
“In response to the progress in science, changes in society and further rapid advances in dental research and treatment, there are many issues to be reviewed and improved in education in dental colleges and universities, including the content, curriculum, educational methods, educational facilities and ongoing education of faculty members. Also, in the dental world in Japan, no organizational lifelong education and learning system for dentists has been established. In the current situation where dental treatment is strongly criticized by society, there is an urgent need to improve and enrich dental education. For this purpose, reviewing the whole dental education system from a broader viewpoint, it is necessary for dental personnel to exchange information with each other, through research and discussions on the content of education, educational methods and the evaluation of educational effects. Many foreign countries have long-established scientific societies for dental education, where issues in dental education are actively discussed and specific measures for better education are promoted. To avoid falling behind in such world affairs and to systemize dental education and lifelong education for dentists in Japan, the Japanese Dental Education Association is established as a place where various issues in dental education are objectively researched and specific measures are considered.”
The above perspective is expressed in Article 2 of the Rules of the Association that came into force on August 23, 1982 as “The purpose of the Association is to contribute to the improvement, enrichment and development of dental education and education in related areas.” The Association’s journal was first published in 1986, and the Association’s newsletters were published 19 times from 1982 to 1997.
The year 2001 was the 20th anniversary of the Association, and at the commemorative ceremony held on June 25 at the National Institute of Informatics in Tokyo, 28 persons received commendations of merit.
In 2002, the academic award system was introduced, and the Educational System Development Award and Encouragement Award were established.
In 2005, the Association became the specialized organization of the Japanese Association for Dental Science.
On June 16, 2006, at the 25th anniversary commemorative ceremony, the Association announced the recommendation of honorary members, as well as its symbol mark and logo mark.
In 2007, the officers consisted of one president, two vice presidents, 16 executive directors, two auditors, 56 directors and 270 councilors, and the number of members reached 1702. In addition to four permanent committees and five previously established committees, five new committees were established.
In 2008, the number of members reached nearly 1,800. The Association revised the bylaws regarding the operation of scientific meetings, the regulations pertaining to the selection of officers, and the regulations and detailed rules on the award system to enrich the Association that had become an organization with a large staff. For the purpose of investigation into education dealing with the super-aging society, the Association started investigating undergraduate education for home-visit dental treatment. Furthermore, the Association newly established the Encouragement Award for Research Presentations at International Scientific Meetings as a support project for education-related presenters, as well as the Educational Culture Award.
In 2011, its 30th anniversary, the Association delivered two commemorative lectures, and held the commemorative ceremony and concert. The 30th General and Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Dental Education Association and the commemorative meeting, chaired by Dr. Masahito Sumitomo, were held from July 15 to 17, 2011 at the Nippon Dental University, School of Life Dentistry at Tokyo.
From 2016, work for institutionalization of the Association is begun, and registration procedure as general incorporated association has been completed in January, 2019.
Characteristics and Activities of the Association
The Association is the only scientific society in Japan offering suggestions about specific measures through general studies on dental education. Due to the introduction of the organization member system in 1998, dental colleges/universities and faculties of dentistry in Japan became members of the Association as organizations, and in 2004, all dental colleges/universities and faculties of dentistry became members. Since 2000, the Association has been hosting annual workshops for dental educators to improve dental education and develop and expand the educators’ skills, which is one of the Association’s goals. In the first workshop held on July 4 and 5, 2000 in Sapporo, ambitious participants from 21 colleges/universities throughout the country engaged in active discussions and delivered presentations on the theme “Curriculum and design of initial undergraduate education.”
The Association, together with the council of presidents of dental colleges/universities and the deans of faculties of dentistry, is a member of the International Federation of Dental Educators and Associations (IFDEA), and collects and disseminates educational information from an international perspective. Every year, the Association dispatches its representatives to the IFDEA board meeting and general meeting held jointly with the scientific meeting of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR). Such distinctive activities of the Association are highly regarded by the parties involved, and accordingly, a subsidy has been granted to the Association by the Japanese Association for Dental Science every year since 1994.
In 2002, the Association introduced the academic award system to commend members who achieved excellent performance in the area of dental education, and to develop dental educators, by granting the “Educational System Development Award” and the “Encouragement Award.” The recipients of the first academic awards were commended at the 22nd General and Scientific Meeting of the Association in Nagasaki in 2003.
Since the clinical training of dentists was mandated in April 2006, the Association has been holding lecture courses for instructor dentists in the clinical training of dentists. The National Examination Committee and the Common Achievement Tests Committee have been conducting questionnaire surveys with colleges/universities to review the consistency between the questioning standards for national dentistry examinations and the model core curriculum for dental education.
In June 2006, the first issue of the white paper on dental education was released.
In 2007, the medical communication facilitator training seminar was held, since when the seminar has been held every year.
In 2009, the 10th Workshop for Dental Educators was held. The Association also conducted an investigation into course evaluations by colleagues and other persons involved in the faculties of dentistry in universities and dental colleges/universities, as well as a comparison between the “questioning standards for national dentistry examinations,” “model core curriculum for dental education” and “guidelines for dental professors” for the purpose of making adjustments, and released the 2008 edition of the white paper on dental education.
In 2010, the first workshop for medical educators was held at the Fuji Educational Research Institute. The Association also conducted questionnaire surveys with the examinees regarding the 103rd National Dentistry Examination, and reported the survey results to the faculty members.
In 2011, various workshops and lecture courses were held, including the workshop for medical educators at the Fuji Educational Research Institute, a medical communication facilitator training seminar, a lecture course for persons responsible for the clinical training programs for dentists and a workshop on the required ethics for home-visit dental treatment. In addition, the Association conducted questionnaire surveys and prepared a report regarding the 104th National Dentistry Examination.
As of the end of fiscal 2011, the Association had four permanent committees (General Affairs Committee, Accounting Committee, Organization Member Committee and Editorial Committee) to steadily work toward achieving its purpose. The Association also has nine committees to carry out activities for the improvement, enrichment and development of dental education and education in related areas. In the Organization Member Committee, all 29 faculties of dentistry in universities and dental colleges/universities in Japan participate as members of the Association. The Educational Internationalization Promotion Committee actively participates in foreign societies’ meetings related to dental education. The Educational Skills Development Committee holds workshops for dental educators. The Educational Evaluation Committee conducts questionnaire surveys regarding national dentistry examinations and prepares reports on survey results. The Undergraduate Education Committee repeatedly reviews the current and appropriate states of preparatory education for dentistry, and the Postgraduate Education Committee holds lecture courses on clinical training, while the Ethics and Professionalism Education Committee holds workshops on ethics. The Public Relations Committee handles updating the Association’s website, the White Paper Preparation Committee prepares white papers on dental education, and the Organizational Review Committee holds discussions on the clarification of the Committee’s mission and the election system.
History
| Item | Outline | |
|---|---|---|
| August 1982 | The Association was established on August 22. | At the Nippon Seinenkan Hall in Tokyo, the initial meeting of the Association (118 attendees) and the first scientific meeting were held. |
| 1982 | The Association’s first newsletter was published. | Nos. 1 to 19 were issued during the period from 1982 to 1997. |
| March 1986 | The first issue of the Japanese Dental Education Association Magazine (the Association’s journal) was released. | Volume 1, No. 1 was issued. |
| July 1989 | The first workshop was held. | The workshop “Issues in basic clinical practice” was held in Osaka. |
| November 1990 | The Japanese Dental Education Association Magazine became a twice-yearly publication. | Volume 6, No. 1 was issued. |
| February 1991 | Volume 6, No. 2 was issued. | |
| August 1991 | The second workshop was held. | The workshop “Issues in basic clinical practice” was held in Nagoya. |
| July 1998 | The organization member system was introduced. | Fifteen dental colleges/universities and faculties of dentistry in Japan became members of the Association as organizations. |
| July 2000 | The first workshop for medical educators was held. | The workshop was held until 2009 (the 10th workshop). |
| June 2001 | The commemorative ceremony for the Association’s 20th anniversary was held. | At the 20th General and Scientific Meeting in Tokyo, 28 persons received commendations of merit. |
| July 2002 | The academic award system was introduced. | The “Educational System Development Award” and the “Encouragement Award (present Excellent Paper Award)” were established for members who achieved excellent performance in the area of dental education. |
| July 2003 | The recipients of the first academic awards were commended. | The recipients of the first academic awards were commended at the 22nd General and Scientific Meeting in Nagasaki. |
| May 2004 | The number of organization members reached 29. | All 29 dental colleges/universities and faculties of dentistry in Japan became members of the Association. |
| April 2005 | The Association became the specialized organization of the Japanese Association for Dental Science. | |
| May 2005 | The Japanese Dental Education Association Magazine became a thrice-yearly publication. | Volume 21, No. 1 was issued. |
| July 2005 | A student symposium was held. | At the 24th General and Scientific Meeting in Tokushima, the student class was established and the symposium “Dental education viewed by students in faculties of dentistry” was held. |
| August 2005 | Volume 21, No. 2 was issued. | |
| December 2005 | Volume 21, No. 3 was issued. | |
| March 2006 | A workshop for persons responsible for the clinical training programs for dentists and persons acting as deputies was held. | The workshop was held four times between 2006 and 2008. |
| June 2006 | The commemorative ceremony for the Association’s 25th anniversary of establishment was held. | The ceremony was held at the 25th General and Scientific Meeting in Sendai. |
| The Association’s symbol mark and logo mark were established. | ||
| December 2006 | The white paper on dental education was issued. | The 2005 edition of the white paper on dental education was issued. Thereafter, the white paper is issued every three years. |
| April 2007 | Committees were newly established. | Five new committees were established for the improvement and development of dentistry education. |
| December 2007 | The medical communication facilitator training seminar was held. | As of 2017, the seminar was held 11 times. |
| July 2008 | Academic awards were newly established. | The “Encouragement Award for Research Presentations at International Scientific Meetings” as a support project for presenters, and the “Educational Culture Award (present Excellent Dental Education Award)” for young educators were established. |
| August 2008 | Questionnaire surveys regarding national dentistry examinations were started. | Upon the request from the council of presidents of dental colleges/universities and the deans of the faculties of dentistry, questionnaire surveys with faculty members regarding the 101st National Dentistry Examination were conducted. As of 2017, questionnaire surveys with examinees and faculty members have been conducted up to the 110th National Dentistry Examination. |
| December 2010 | Workshops for dental educators were started. | As of 2017, seven workshops have been held. |
| July 2011 | The commemorative ceremony for the Association’s 30th anniversary was held. | The ceremony was held at the 30th General and Scientific Meeting and the commemorative meeting in Tokyo. |
| August 2014 | An agreement was entered into with the South East Asia Association for Dental Education (SEAADE). | The signing ceremony was held at the 25th SEAADE Annual Meeting in Kuching, Malaysia. |
| August 2015 | An agreement was entered into with the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE). | The signing ceremony was held at ADEE2015 in Szeged, Hungary. |
| March 2016 | An agreement was entered into with the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). | The signing ceremony was held at ADEA2016 in Denver, US. |
| April 2016 | Committees were newly established. | The Regulations/Rules Formulation and Incorporation Review Committee and the Multidisciplinary Cooperation Education Committee were newly established. |
| The Japanese Dental Education Association Magazine was digitized. | From Volume 32, No. 1, the magazine was digitized and posted on the Association’s website. | |
| The publication of e-newsletters was started. | ||
| July 2016 | The commemorative ceremony for the Association’s 35th anniversary was held. | The ceremony was held at the 35th General and Scientific Meeting in Osaka. |
| January 2019 | Institutionalization. | Activity as general incorporated association is begun. |