Abstract
The perception by Medical Students of their learning environment impacts on their understanding of the course of study and performances. This was a descriptive study that assessed medical students’ perception of learning environment at the College of Health Sciences, Benue State University, Nigeria. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was applied to all the second, third and fourth year medical students to assess the following areas; student’s perception of learning (SPL), student’s perception of course organizers (SPCO), student’s academic self-perception (SASP), student’s perception of atmosphere (SPA), and student’s social self-perception (SSSP). Data was analysed with the SPSS software version 15. Out of 250 questionnaires distributed to the students, 210 (84%) were fit for analysis; 174 males (82.9%) and 36 females (17.1%) with a mean age of 24.8 years ± 3.7. Mean global score (MGS) of study was 106.3/200 (53.2%) meaning positive perception, but not reflective of students centred learning. SPCO and SSSP needs to improve at a score of 48% and 49.3% respectively as against 100%. Other domains had positive perceptions (SPL; 56%, SASP; 61.9%, and SPA; 53.5%). There was a significantly lower SPA score in those in fourth year of study compared to second and third year students. (p ˂ 0.01) Medical Students at the BSU, Nigeria have positive perception of their learning environment, but the authority can improve MGS by increasing students’ social support, and retraining the teachers.
Highlights
The environment in which undergraduate medical education takes place has been shown to have an impact on the level of success of its students.[1]
Two hundred and fifty (250) students in second, third and fourth year of study at the College of Health Sciences, Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria completed the 50- items Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire used for this study
Of the two hundred and fifty questionnaires administered to the students, two hundred and ten were returned fully completed and fit for analysis, producing a study-response rate of 84%
Summary
The environment in which undergraduate medical education takes place has been shown to have an impact on the level of success of its students.[1] Various aspects of this environment have been found to influence the results of effective curricula leading to positive outcomes of its graduates.[2,3] The learning environment is not limited to studentteacher interaction, teaching and learning activities, it includes physical structures/facilities available to learners.[4] In addition, such environment involves the provision of support for students’ psychosocial and emotional needs.[3] Given the above components of a learning environment and its impact on study outcome, it is important that managers of such environment understand how students perceive their study space. Evaluation of students’ learning environment and use of results from such works have been reported to
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