Assessment of the educational environment in a newly established dental college

Abstract

Objectives: This study was aimed to assess quantitatively and qualitatively the students' perceptions of teaching environment in a newly established dental school. Materials and Methods: A modified DREEM questionnaire was introduced to all the dental students of first and second year dentistry. Quantitative descriptive questions and open-ended questions were added to the questionnaire on the reasons why students joined the dental course and their perception of it as well as positive and negative aspects within the college. Results: Out of total thirty four students (97%) returned the completed questionnaire. The overall mean score was 101.39 indicating more positive than negative environment. Scores in 4 out of the 5 domains were significantly higher in 1 st year students compared to 2 nd year students. Most of students had good social life. Students were not satisfied with the support system in the college. 73.5% of students chose the course themselves and 47.1% found the course tough while 32.4% found it interesting. Conclusions: It is important to assess the students' perceptions of educational environment in their first dental years especially in newly established colleges. Special attention should be paid to transition of students from first to second year. It would be interesting to monitor the perception of the same students over years.