The Australian DREEM: evaluating student perceptions of academic learning environments within eight health science courses
Journal Title: International Journal of Medical Education - Year 2011, Vol 2, Issue 2
Abstract
Objectives The purpose of this cross sectional study is to investigate student perceptions of learning environments at a major Australian University. Various aspects of environment are compared between courses, year levels, educational backgrounds and gender. Methods The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) and a demographic questionnaire were completed by 548 undergraduate students enrolled in the emergency health, midwifery, radiography and medical imaging, occupational therapy, pharmacy, nutrition and dietetics, physiotherapy and social work courses at Monash University. Convenience sampling was used and scores were compared across grouping variables identified via demographic information. Results Scores across the sample were fairly high (M = 137.3; SD = 18.3), indicating an overall positive perception of learning environments among students. Total scores were significantly higher for females (M = 138.8; SD = 17.2) than males (M = 132.3; SD = 20.7; t(545) = 3.51; p = 0.002) and this trend was consistent across all aspects of perceived learning environment (although not always significant). Students who enrolled in their course directly after completing high school yielded less positive ratings on some DREEM subscales than students who did not enrol immediately after completing high school. Conclusions The positive perception held by Monash University health science students towards their education and learning environments is hopefully indicative of similar courses within Australia and internationally. While future studies may help confirm this, the current findings offer a chance to explore the underlying causes of this positivity in more depth as well as compare similarities and differences between the specific health science disciplines.
Authors and Affiliations
Ted Brown, Brett Williams, Marty Lynch
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP85844
- DOI 10.5116/ijme.4e66.1b37
- Views 66
- Downloads 0
The Australian DREEM: evaluating student perceptions of academic learning environments within eight health science courses
Objectives The purpose of this cross sectional study is to investigate student perceptions of learning environments at a major Australian University. Various aspects of environment are compared between courses, year l...
The relationship between student perceptions of tutor performance and tutors' background in problem-based learning in South Korea
Objectives This study was conducted to investigate student perceptions of tutors' group facilitation skills and to evaluate the difference in student perceptions of tutor performance according to the tutors' background...
Patient perceptions of physician empathy, satisfaction with physician, interpersonal trust, and compliance
Objectives This study was designed to investigate psychometric properties of the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE), and to examine correlations between its scores and measures of overa...
Effects of a teaching evaluation system: a case study
Objectives This study aims to identify the effects of evaluation on teaching and discusses improvements in the work of the evaluation office. Methods Teaching evaluation data from 2006 to 2009 was collected and anal...
Developing medical professionalism in future doctors: a systematic review
Objectives There are currently no guidelines on the most effective ways of supporting medical students to develop high standards of medical professionalism. The aim of this review is to summarise the evidence currently...