Assessment of learning environment among the first year Malaysian medical students

Abstract

The quality of the learning environment has been identified to be crucial for effective learning. Medical students' perceptions of learning environments provide a useful foundation for modifying and improving the quality of medical education. The aim of this study was to assess first-year medical students' perceptions of the learning environment in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). The Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was distributed to all 213 first-year medical students of UKM. The questionnaire contained 50 items scored on a 0–4 Likert scale (total scores could range from 0 to 200). There were five subscales in the questionnaire, including students' perceptions about learning, teachers, atmosphere, academic self-perceptions, and social self-perceptions. The total DREEM score recorded in this study was 135.6/200, which indicated that medical students' perceptions of the learning environment at UKM were more positive than negative. Students' perceptions of learning, students' perceptions of teachers, students' academic self-perceptions, students' perceptions of atmosphere and students' social self-perceptions scores were 33.04/48, 29.68/44, 22.16/32, 33.11/48 and 17.62/28, respectively. The total DREEM score was significantly higher among female (137.02/200) than male medical students (130.84/200) (p < 0.05). There was no relationship between the students' perceptions of the learning environment and their academic performance (R = −0.06, p > 0.05). The study showed that first-year medical students at UKM positively perceived their learning environment. Some low-scoring areas of the learning environment were also identified, which require improvement in the future.