Evaluation of the Educational Environment Based on the Perception of Occupational Therapy (OT) Students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran (2013 - 2020)

Abstract

Background: The evaluation of educational environments is the key to achieving a student-centered and qualified curriculum. Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the educational environment in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS), Shiraz, Iran, focused on occupational therapy (OT) students, using the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire for incoming students of 8 years (2013 - 2020). Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical, and applied study was carried out on two occasions in 2017 and 2021. The students' perspectives of the 4incomings between 2013 to 2016 (group 1) and another four incomings between 2017 to 2020 (group 2) were evaluated. SPSS software (version 23) was utilized for data analysis. Results: The average total score of the educational environment questionnaire for all 136 students was 102.301 ± 20.607. There was a statistically significant difference in the perception of students in these two groups. The results showed better quality in the total score of the educational environment and all subdomains of this questionnaire in group 2 with a P-value of < 0.05. Conclusions: It seems that OT students’ perception shows a semi-favorable to favorable circumstance regarding the educational environment in SUMS. The incoming OT students from 2017 to 2020 in SUMS have reported more favorable conditions in all aspects of the educational environment than the incoming students from 2013 to 2016. Students' perspectives were more negative after passing their years of studying at the university. Serious reforms in the educational environment of OT at SUMS are needed.