Using Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure to evaluate educational environments in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Students' behavior is influenced by their learning environment. Thus, the study aimed to compare the perception of the learning environment of pre-clinical medical students at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAUHS) based on their stream, gender, and batch using Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at KSAUHS. Data were collected from all pre-clinical high school entries (stream1) and postgraduate entries (stream2) in the third and fourth years. The questionnaire was distributed to participants simultaneously using a non-probability, convenient sampling technique. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 290 students. There were 162 (55.9%) males and 128 (44.1%) females. Based on their educational background, 237 (81.7%) were stream1 and 53 (18.7%) were stream2, and batches 14 (39.3%) and 15 (60.7%). The overall score of this study was 110/200 and there was no statistically significant difference between genders and batches. The only statically significant difference was within streams; stream2 total DREEM score and students' perception of learning was lower than stream1. Conclusion: The areas of improvement and research were seen by comparing various batches, genders, and streams of preclinical medical students, through the application of the DREEM inventory. Further research involving the perception of clinical year students is required.