If We Don't Define It, We Can't Evaluate It: Competency Frameworks for Assessing Dental Educators' Performance in Academic Roles.

Abstract

Dental educators are increasingly expected to undertake complex roles extending beyond clinical teaching, including curriculum design, assessment, leadership, and scholarship. However, competence as a dental educator remains poorly defined and inconsistently evaluated. Current evaluation practices commonly draw on indicators such as student feedback, peer observation, and teaching hours, which provide useful but partial evidence of educational competence. This lack of conceptual clarity limits meaningful evaluation and contributes to inconsistencies in teaching quality, faculty development, and academic recognition. Although competency frameworks have been proposed for dental faculty and educational leaders, their adoption and integration into routine educator evaluation remain inconsistent across institutions. This perspective argues that competency frameworks provide a foundation for defining educational competence but require institutional commitment and educational expertise for effective and sustainable implementation. Therefore, advancing dental education requires competency-based frameworks to strengthen educator evaluation, support faculty development, and enhance educational quality.