Assessment of Perception of Learning by Undergraduate Dental Students in Delhi-NCR Region using Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Abstract Background: Education in any dental institution and curriculum plays a vital role in the growth of students, which will help them acclimatize to the increased demand for dentistry. Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the students’ perception of course curricula in three dental institutes in the Delhi-NCR region among undergraduate students and interns. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students from first year till interns in three dental institutes of the Delhi-NCR region based on the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire. The DREEM questionnaire was distributed using Google Forms. Six hundred seventy students from three institutes participated in the questionnaire, and data were tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis by the Kruskal–Wallis and the Mann–Whitney test. Results: The total mean DREEM score was 158.8/200 in the present study, which is excellent. The overall scoring of the domain showed a significant difference for the fourth BDS for students’ perception of atmosphere (P = 0.001) and for the third-year students for students’ academic self-perception (P = 0.004). In the present study, all subdomains scored > 2, which means students had positive attitudes toward learning. Conclusion: Although students had positive learning perceptions in all three institutes, there were some problematic areas, such as stress during dental courses, for which policies should be formulated and implemented in dental institutes. The students were found to be too tired at the dental institute; they could not enjoy the program. Student-centered teaching programs can be employed to improve on the weaknesses of institutes.