Abstract
BackgroundThe Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) has been widely used to evaluate the learning environment within health sciences education, however, this tool has not been applied in veterinary medical education. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the DREEM tool in a veterinary medical program and to determine veterinary students’ perceptions of their learning environment.MethodsThe DREEM is a survey tool which quantitatively measures students’ perceptions of their learning environment. The survey consists of 50 items, each scored 0–4 on a Likert Scale. The 50 items are subsequently analysed within five subscales related to students’ perceptions of learning, faculty (teachers), academic atmosphere, and self-perceptions (academic and social). An overall score is obtained by summing the mean score for each subscale, with an overall possible score of 200.All students in the program were asked to complete the DREEM. Means and standard deviations were calculated for the 50 items, the five subscale scores and the overall score. Cronbach’s alpha was determined for the five subscales and overall score to evaluate reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate construct validity.Results224 responses (53%) were received. The Cronbach’s alpha for the overall score was 0.93 and for the five subscales were; perceptions of learning 0.85, perceptions of faculty 0.79, perceptions of atmosphere 0.81, academic self-perceptions 0.68, and social self-perceptions 0.72. Construct validity was determined to be acceptable (p < 0.001) and all items contributed to the overall validity of the DREEM. The overall DREEM score was 128.9/200, which is a positive result based on the developers’ descriptors and comparable to other health science education programs. Four individual items of concern were identified by students.ConclusionsIn this setting the DREEM was a reliable and valid tool to measure veterinary students’ perceptions of their learning environment. The four items identified as concerning originated from four of the five subscales, but all related to workload. Negative perceptions regarding workload is a common concern of students in health education programs. If not addressed, this perception may have an unfavourable impact on veterinary students’ learning environment.
Highlights
The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) has been widely used to evaluate the learning environment within health sciences education, this tool has not been applied in veterinary medical education
All items contributed to the overall validity of the DREEM
This study has demonstrated that the DREEM can be applied in a veterinary medical context to provide reliable and valid information on veterinary students’ perceptions of their learning environment
Summary
The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) has been widely used to evaluate the learning environment within health sciences education, this tool has not been applied in veterinary medical education. Veterinary medical education in the United States is currently facing a paradigm shift with calls for greater emphasis on competency-based education These competencies include a range of professional or non-technical attributes to address heightened expectations of the veterinary profession [1,2,3]. The environment in which students learn has been shown to influence a number of educational outcomes including academic achievement, course satisfaction, student aspirations, as well as sense of well-being [6,7,8,9,10,11] In these settings the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) is the most common tool used to evaluate students’ perceptions of their learning environment [12]. This tool has been used to assess the impact of curricular change and interventions [13,14,15], as well as identifying strengths and weakness of curricula with a view to introducing change [16,17]
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