Analysis of the 'Educational Climate' in Spanish Public Schools of Dentistry using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure: a multicenter study

Dental students' perception of their educational environment in relation to their satisfaction with dentistry major: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Students' perception of their educational environment and satisfaction with their major can reveal the extent of their readiness to practice their profession after graduation. This study aimed to evaluate dental students' perception of their educational environment and satisfaction with their major in dentistry, as well as the relationship between these two factors.

METHODS

An online survey was conducted in 2022 among first- to fourth-year students across 11 dental schools in Korea. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) and Academic Major Satisfaction Scale (AMSS) were used to measure the students' perception of the educational environment and satisfaction with their major in dentistry, respectively.

RESULTS

A total of 539 students participated in the survey (response rate = 18.1%). The overall mean scores of the DREEM and AMSS were 125.03 (maximum score 200) and 22.01 (maximum score 30), respectively. Fourth-year students had the lowest scores in the overall DREEM, DREEM subscales (excluding students' perceptions of atmosphere), and AMSS. The overall DREEM scores and all DREEM subscales showed statistically significant positive and moderate correlations with AMSS (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Using the DREEM, we identified areas that need improvement and the academic year (fourth year) that require proactive support. Considering the positive correlation between all DREEM subscales and the AMSS, measures to comprehensively improve the educational environment are needed to improve dental students' satisfaction with their major.

Preliminary validation of the Dental Clinical Learning Environment Instrument in a Brazilian dental school

INTRODUCTION

This study aimed to perform a preliminary validation of the Dental Clinical Learning Environment Instrument (DECLEI) in a Brazilian dental school.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Dental Clinical Learning Environment Instrument was translated into Brazilian-Portuguese, and Brazilian DECLEI's items relevance and content validity were assessed using the content validity index (CVI). DECLEI was then distributed to 155 Brazilian undergraduate dental students attending the 7th and 8th semester of dental studies. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used as an initial exploration of the Brazilian DECLEI's internal structure. Item-total correlations for the remaining items were calculated to identify items with poor discrimination coefficients. The internal consistency reliability for the final set of 17 items was calculated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The sensitivity of the instrument to measure differences between groups regarding year in dental school, race and sex was also assessed.

RESULTS

The CVI was ≥0.80 for all 24 items of the Brazilian DECLEI indicating that all items were relevant to the local culture. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) provided evidence of a single dominant component containing 17 items (Cronbach's α = .86), and all 17 items met the benchmark of acceptable item-total correlation. Significant differences were found only when comparing 7th- and 8th-semester students.

CONCLUSIONS

Dental Clinical Learning Environment Instrument has the potential to be used as a reliable instrument to measure clinical learning environments for Brazilian dental students.

Comparisons Between Preclinical and Clinical Dental Students' Perceptions of the Educational Climate at the College of Dentistry, Jazan University

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to compare the preclinical and clinical undergraduate dental students' perceptions of their educational climate (EC). In addition it will be compared with other local and international studies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Students enrolled in their third and fourth years (preclinical phase) and students in their fifth and sixth years (clinical phase) of the Bachelor of Dental Science at the University of Jazan, Saudi Arabia, were invited to complete a WhatsApp media survey, which included demographics and the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM). This scale measured students' overall perceptions of the EC in five domains: learning, teaching, academic self-perception, atmosphere, and social self-perception. Data were analyzed with Student's t-tests and ANOVA to compare between and within groups.

RESULTS

A total of 272 participants, 140 (51.5%) preclinical and 132 (48.5%) clinical students,took part in the study. Students were generally positive about their learning climate, with overall DREEM scores of 125.19 and 126.21 (preclinical) to 124.10 (clinical) out of a possible score of 200 phases. Student's perceptions of teaching (26.18±3.24/72.72%) and atmosphere (28.08±5.29/63.82%) were the highest and lowest scores, respectively, and both scores were positive.

CONCLUSION

No differences between the preclinical and clinical phases of the curriculum point to the structure of learning, teaching, academic, social self-perception in health professional degrees. Further research should investigate the weak points in the social and atmospheric climate.

Students' Perceptions of Educational Climate in a Spanish School of Dentistry Using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure: A Longitudinal Study

Background: Educational Climate (EC) may determine teacher and student behaviour. Our aim was to evaluate EC longitudinally in a period of ‘curricular transition’ from traditional (teacher-centred learning) to Bologna curricula (interactive student-centred learning). Methods: The ‘Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure’ (DREEM) questionnaire was completed by 397 students from a Spanish School of Dentistry. Students’ perception was assessed in different courses and academic years. Results: The overall EC scale average was 115.70 ± 20.20 (57.85%) and all domain values showed a percentage > 52%, which were interpreted as ‘positive and acceptable’. The EC mean was: 118.02 ± 17.37 (59.01%) for 2010–2011; 116.46 ± 19.79 (58.23%) for 2013–2014; 115.60 ± 21.93 (57.80%) for 2014–2015; 112.02 ± 22.28 (56.01%) for 2015–2016, interpreted as ‘more positive than negative EC’. The worst Learning domain scores corresponded to later academic years and may reflect the Bologna curriculum’s more intensive clinical training involving greater responsibility and self-learning. Conclusions: EC and its domains were perceived more positively than negatively. The Social domain was the most positively evaluated, while the Learning domain was the worst.

DREEM-ing of dentistry: Students' perception of the academic learning environment in Australia

INTRODUCTION

Continuous evaluation and improvement of the learning environment are required to respond to the changing nature of dental practice and dental education. This study aimed to describe a cohort of undergraduate dentistry students' perceptions of their learning environment.

METHODS

Students enrolled in years 1-4 of the Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) programme at The University of Queensland were invited to complete an online survey which included demographics and the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM). This scale measures students' perception of the educational environment overall, and for five domains: Learning, Teaching, Academic self-perception, Atmosphere and Social self-perception. Data analysis was mostly descriptive, t tests and univariate statistics compared groups.

RESULTS

Participants (N = 192; females = 57%) were generally positive about their learning environment, with a total DREEM score of 127 of 200. Overall, Academic and Social self-perception domain scores were ranked lower than others. Students in preclinical years of study and/or had dentistry as a first career preference were more positive across all domains, except Social self-perception.

CONCLUSIONS

Differences between the preclinical and clinical phases of the curriculum point to the structure of teaching and learning in health professional degrees. Further research should investigate how each environmental domain more specifically correlates with other aspects of the curriculum and student progression, including well-being. This could include logistical factors such as timetabling and its effect on physical well-being, to less tangible factors that may impact on mental well-being.

Student perceptions of the education environment in a Spanish medical podiatry school

Background

The aim of this study was to explore students’ perceptions of the educational environment (EE) in a Spanish school of podiatry. Various aspects of EE were compared by academic year in the program.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire to collect perceptions using data from a 2015 survey. Podiatric medical students from Extremadura University participated in this study. EE was assessed with the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) tool.

The DREEM questionnaire covers five domains of student perceptions, including learning, teachers, academic self-perceptions, atmosphere, and social self-perceptions.

Results

Two hundred thirty-five students participated, resulting in a 90.73% response rate. Participants included similar numbers of students from different years in the program, and most were women. The global EE score was 2.58 out of 4, indicating that students’ perceptions were more positive than negative. Although some weaknesses were detected in this school, students viewed the EE positively in all five DREEM domains. Academic year in the program were generally not related to perceptions of EE.

Conclusions

Podiatric medical students declared, in general, that the EE was more positive than negative in our school, according to the DREEM questionnaire. However, although the results are on the whole good, some areas need to be revised to make improvements.

Comparing student and staff perceptions of the "Educational Climate" in Spanish Dental Schools using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure

OBJECTIVE

To compare the perceptions of students and teachers of the "Educational Climate" (EC) in Spanish public dental schools.

METHODS

A group of 1064 students and 354 teachers from six Spanish public dental schools responded to the DREEM questionnaire. This has 50 items grouped into five subscales: perception of learning (Learning); perception of teachers (Teachers); academic self-perceptions (Academic); perception of the atmosphere in the faculty (Atmosphere); and social self-perceptions (Social). The DREEM scale provides results for each item, each subscale and the overall EC.

RESULTS

The EC scores were 123.2 (61.6%) for the students and 134.1 (67.0%) for the teachers (P<.001). The scores of the students and teachers for the subscales were, respectively: 27.9 (58.1%) and 30.2 (63.0 %) for Learning (P<.001); 26.8 (60.9%) and 32.6 (74.1%) for Teachers (P<.001); 20.7 (64.7%) and 20.5 (64.0%) for Academic (P=.333); 29.9 (62.3%) and 33.7 (70.3%) for Atmosphere (P<.001); and 17.9 (64.0%) and 16.9 (60.5%) for Social (P<.001). The students identified six problematic items (12.0 %) compared to only two (4.0 %) highlighted by the teachers.

CONCLUSION

The students and teachers considered the EC to be "more positive than negative" in Spanish public dental schools; and the different subscales to be "positive and acceptable." The teachers did, however, evaluate the EC, and specifically the learning-teaching process, more positively than their students, identifying fewer problematic educational aspects. Both groups agreed on the need to: improve support systems for students who suffer from stress and reduce teaching based on "factual learning."

Analysis of dental students' written peer feedback from a prospective peer assessment protocol

INTRODUCTION

Peer assessment and feedback is encouraged to enhance students' learning. The aim of this study was to quantitatively and qualitatively analyse pre-clinical and clinical dental students' written peer feedback provided as part of a continuous, formative and structured peer assessment protocol.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 309 Year-2 and Year-5 dental students were invited to participate in a peer assessment and peer feedback protocol. Consenting volunteer students were trained to observe each other whilst working in the skills laboratory (Year-2) and in the dental clinic (Year-5). Subsequently, they followed a structured protocol of peer assessment and peer feedback using specially designed work-based forms during a complete academic year. The content of their written feedback was coded according to the UK General Dental Council domain, sign (positive or negative), specificity (task specific or general), and grouped into themes.

RESULTS

A total of 108 participants (40 Year-2 and 68 Year-5) completed 1169 peer assessment work-based forms (516 pre-clinical and 653 clinical); 94% contained written feedback. The large majority (82%) of Year-2 feedback represented the clinical domain, 89% were positive, 77% were task specific, and they were grouped into 14 themes. Year-5 feedback was related mostly to Management and Leadership (37%) and Communication (32%), 64% were positive, 75% task specific, and they were clustered into 24 themes.

DISCUSSION

The content of the feedback showed notable differences between Year-2 and Year-5 students. Senior students focused more on Communication and Management and Leadership skills, whilst juniors were more concerned with clinical skills. Year-5 students provided 13% negative feedback compared to only 2% from Year-2. Regulatory focus theory is discussed to explain these differences. Both groups provided peer feedback on a wide and different range of themes. However, four themes emerged in both groups: efficiency, infection control, time management and working speed.

CONCLUSION

A structured peer assessment framework can be used to guide pre-clinical and clinical students to provide peer feedback focused on different domains, and on contrasting signs and specificities. It can also present an opportunity to complement tutors' feedback.

Evaluating Student's Perceptions of the Learning Environment in an Indian Dental School

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate student's perception of the learning environment in a private dental institute in India based on DREEM inventory.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study included students in all four years of the undergraduate dental course of Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Hyderabad, India. Self-administered Dundee Ready Education environment Measure (DREEM) inventory consisting of 50-items on a five-point Likert scale was utilized to assess the students' perceptions regarding learning environment in this academic dental school. Comparison for the total and domain DREEM score means was carried out via independent t-test for dichotomous variables (gender) and ANOVA for more than two variables (year of study). Significant difference was noted for p < 0.05.

RESULTS

The response rate for this study was 86.8%. Mean age of the study participants was 19.61 + 1.50 y. The overall DREEM score for this population was 125.24 + 21.10 reflecting a more of positive than negative education environment in this institution. When individual domain scores were accounted, except for the domain SAS, females had a higher mean scores for all domains which was however statistically significant only for the domains SPL (p = 0.03) and SPT (p = 0.01). Likewise, significant differences were also noted for SPL and SPT based on the year of study, wherein for both the domains, third year students had significantly higher mean scores and least was recorded for fourth year students. Correlation of the various domains demonstrated significant positive correlation among the domains.

CONCLUSION

Overall this sample of dental students rated the learning environment in this dental institute as positive.

Veterinary students' perceptions of their learning environment as measured by the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure

BACKGROUND

The 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.

METHODS

The 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.

RESULTS

224 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.

CONCLUSIONS

In 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.