Evaluating the Perception of Undergraduate Medical Students About the Educational Environment by Using the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) Questionnaire.

Background This study uses the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire to investigate undergraduate medical students' perceptions regarding their educational environment. The study recognizes the pivotal role of the educational environment in shaping future healthcare professionals and aims to contribute valuable insights for continuous improvement. The DREEM questionnaire, a validated tool, provides a structured approach to assess various dimensions of the educational environment. The study explores teaching and learning, academic atmosphere, student self-perception, social support, and overall satisfaction, seeking to identify strengths and areas for enhancement. The overarching goal is to offer evidence-based recommendations for academic institutions, curriculum developers, and policymakers to foster an environment that optimally nurtures the learning experiences of undergraduate medical students. The study aspires to contribute to the ongoing efforts to refine and elevate medical education, ensuring the holistic development of future healthcare professionals. Aims & objectives Using the DREEM questionnaire, evaluate undergraduate medical students' perceptions regarding their educational environment. Identifying the strengths and weaknesses in the current educational environment, encompassing teaching and learning, academic atmosphere, student self-perception, and social support. Methodology All undergraduate medical students of C.U.Shah Medical College and Hospital, Surendranagar, Gujarat (India), were included in the study. DREEM questionnaire was introduced in classroom settings in digital form with the help of Google Forms. The perceptions were obtained and analyzed with the help of Google Sheets. Results The DREEM questionnaire mean scores (124.58/200) indicate an overall positive perception of the educational environment among medical students, with total scores falling within the 'More Positive than Negative' range. The domain-wise analysis reveals scores for Students' Perception of Learning (SPL) 30.09/48, Students' Perception of Teachers (SPT) 27.87/44, Students' Academic Self-Perceptions (SASP) 20.60/32, Students' Perception of Atmosphere (SPA) 30.31/48, and Students' Social Self-Perceptions (SSSP) 15.72/28, indicating varying perceptions across different aspects of the educational environment. Within the domains, the SPL scores range from 10 to 44 (mean: 29.91), with one response in the 'very poor' range. SPT scores vary from 4 to 44 (mean: 27.49), with three 'very poor' responses. SASP scores range from 6 to 32 (mean: 20.73), with one response in the 'Feelings of total failure' range. SPA scores range from 9 to 48 (mean: 30.29), with one response in the 'Very poor environment' range. SSSP scores vary from 6 to 28 (mean: 15.66), with five 'Miserable' responses. Conclusion The study using DREEM scores highlights a generally positive perception of the educational environment among medical students. Areas for improvement include addressing fatigue-related concerns and enhancing teacher-student interactions, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to ensure ongoing enhancement in the learning environment.

Examination of the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) Model-Based Educational Quality in the Clinical Divisions of Semnan University: A Descriptive Study.

INTRODUCTION: It is widely recognized that there is a significant correlation between the quality of the learning environment and the level of satisfaction and achievement of students. To enhance the quality of education, it is vital to discern and rectify any inadequacies or deficiencies within the learning environment. Since the examination of strengths and weaknesses of the clinical learning environment provides valuable information to educational managers in improving the quality of education, the primary objective of this study was to examine the educational atmosphere prevalent in the principal clinical departments of the academic medical centers affiliated with Semnan University of Medical Sciences. The investigation was carried out based on the principles of the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was conducted with a descriptive-analytical approach which consisted of 232 trainees and interns affiliated with the departments of pediatrics, gynecology, internal medicine, and surgery. Sampling was done by census method. Then, a standard questionnaire was designed based on the DREEM model in Google Forum and its link was uploaded by representatives in class groups and channels. The data were collected within a period of three months and then were statistically analyzed using SPSS, version 24 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). RESULTS: Based on the results, the mean age of students was 23.92 years. The mean score of the educational environment of interns and stagers based on the questionnaire was 122.45 and 143.35, respectively. Regarding the mean score of the educational environment, a statistically significant difference was observed between pediatric and internal medicine (P-value<0.001), and surgical and internal medicine departments (P-value=0.03). CONCLUSION: In general, the educational environment was evaluated as semi-optimal from students' point of view; thus, it appears imperative for university officials to allocate greater attention toward enhancing the quality of the learning environment by devising more meticulous plans and engaging in consistent self-assessment of the educational landscape.

Medical Students' Perceptions at Dow University of Health Sciences using Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure Inventory.

Objectives: To assess medical students' perceptions regarding learning, teachers, academics, atmosphere at campus and social self-perceptions at Dow University of Health Sciences using Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) Inventory. Method: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted from March 1st, 2022 to September 30th, 2022. All medical students at Dow University of Health Sciences were offered to participate. All students were given the choice to respond to DREEM questionnaire via online Form or printed copy anonymously. The DREEM Inventory measures five domains of students' perceptions of a given institution. Comparison of responses between different years and institution was carried out by χ2 test. Means scores were compared by Student's t-test and ANOVA, p-value of ≤.05 was taken as significant. Results: Total of 1054 out of 1750 (60.23%) students submitted fully completed forms and were included, out of these 632 (60.0%) belonged to Dow Medical College & 422 (40.0%) belonged to Dow International Medical College. The mean ±SD of total score of DREEM by DMC students was 100.07 ±31.46 and that of DIMC was 100.52 ±32.73. According to DREEM Global scoring both colleges scores fell into category of "many problems". Analysis according to domains showed that maximum score was given to 2nd domain of their "perception regarding teachers" and minimum score was allocated to 5th domain regarding "social self-perceptions". Conclusion: Overall Students perceived environment at DUHS as "many problems" category. This needs to be investigated for betterment of Educational Environment (EE) at campus.

Students' perception of the educational environment at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for health sciences using DREEM tool.

BACKGROUND: Students' learning results are influenced by the educational environment. The best learning environment is created when students are involved in the evaluation process of their education. The purpose of this study was to evaluate students' perceptions of their learning environment at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS) in Riyadh using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) instrument. METHODS: This observational cross-sectional study was conducted through an online questionnaire using the Arabic version of the DREEM tool. Students from six colleges at KSAU-HS Riyadh campus were asked to complete the questionnaire through emails. The study was carried out between November 2021 and April 2022. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were performed for DREEM as both a continuous (two-way ANOVA test) and categorical variable (Chi-squared and Monte-Carlo test). RESULTS: A total of 370 students completed the questionnaire. The overall DREEM score for the study was 125.88/200, with a standard deviation of 58.79. SSP items received the highest scores, while SAP items earned the lowest scores. The college and the academic level showed statistically significant differences in the DREEM overall score and the five subscales, whereas gender showed no significant difference. The college of pharmacy scored the highest total DREEM score (140.35 ± 27.75), and scored higher among the five subscales than both colleges of dentistry (114.13 ± 29.74) and medicine (113.87 ± 33.03). Students in their third year had the greatest overall DREEM score (132.23 ± 29.76), and scored higher in SPL, SPA and SSP compared to students in their sixth year, in which the total DREEM score was (111.65 ± 27.58). CONCLUSIONS: Students of KSAU-HS generally perceived the educational environment as having more positive than negative. The educational level and college differed significantly in the overall DREEM score and the five subscales. Junior students had better perception of the educational environment and they differed significantly in the SPL and SPA subscales. The faculty of pharmacy had higher scores in the overall DREEM and the five subsequent scales than colleges of dentistry and medicine. Further research is needed in order to optimize the educational environment by investigating different solutions.

Well-being in institutionalised adolescents.

BACKGROUND: For adolescents who have criminal convictions, achieving a positive progress including desistance from offending may depend on a sense of well-being. Factors associated with growth in well-being are not widely researched, but there is some work that suggests that qualities in other internal states as well as in the environment may foster well-being. AIMS: To examine the well-being of young male incarcerated offenders, and its relationship with frequency of contacts with the family, perceptions of socio-educational environment, feelings about the future and self-efficacy. METHODS: Participants were recruited from three secure education institutions in the Federal District of Brasília, Brazil, under the management of the Secretariat of Justice. They were invited to complete anonymous self-report questionnaires, which included the Psychological Well-Being Scale, the Perception of the Socio-Educational Environment Scale, the Feelings about the Future Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Self-Efficacy, and to provide limited sociodemographic data. RESULTS: 195 young male offenders participated and their mean age was 16.8 years (SD = 1.58, range 14-20). There was a positive correlation between well-being and perceptions of the socio-educational environment, positive feelings about the future and self-efficacy self-ratings. Multiple linear regression analyses confirmed that the frequency of family contacts, positive perceptions of the socio-educational environment, positive feelings about the future, and self-efficacy in leisure and social activities independently contributed to the well-being of young offenders. CONCLUSION: Although well-being has been associated with desistance from committing crimes, the factors that may predispose to well-being have been researched less and never before examined among inmates in Brazil. While longitudinal work is needed to be certain of the direction of the relationship, the fact that the results are broadly consistent with a similar study carried out on the other side of the world is encouraging in terms of indicating ways forward in rehabilitation. It is necessary to develop interventions that support family relationships and promote personal relationships and personal development, not only of useful skills but also of personal confidence in those skills.

Percepción del ambiente educacional en estudiantes de Odontología pertenecientes a la Universidad de Valparaíso / Perception of the educational environment in dental students belonging to the University of Valparaíso

Introducción: El ambiente educacional es todo lo que rodea al estudiante en una comunidad educativa. Actualmente ha tomado mucha relevancia, ya que se conoce su relación con el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje y sirve como base para generar una transformación social y un desarrollo significativo para los estudiantes. A pesar de ello, resulta ser diferente en cada institución y dependiente de la propia percepción de los alumnos. Por eso, esta investigación tiene como objetivo describir la percepción del ambiente educacional de los estudiantes de la Escuela de Odontología de la Universidad de Valparaíso. Sujetos y métodos: Se realizó una encuesta, Dundee Ready Education Enviroment Measure (DREEM), a 117 estudiantes de 3.er a 6.o años que cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión y exclusión. Los datos se analizaron utilizando Excel y el software JASP con los estadísticos chi cuadrado y Kruskal-Wallis. Resultados: De las 117 encuestas DREEM se obtuvo una media de 111,9 puntos. En la dimensión 1, el 56% indicó percepción positiva; en la dimensión 2, un 53% indicó buena dirección en la percepción docente; en la dimensión 3, un 67% indicó una autopercepción académica positiva; en la dimensión 4, un 53% indicó que el ambiente podía mejorar; y en la dimensión 5, un 45% percibió que no era un buen ambiente. Todas las dimensiones tuvieron una asociación estadísticamente significativa y una igualdad entre sus medias. Conclusión: Los estudiantes valoraron la carrera de Odontología de la Universidad de Valparaíso como con ‘más aspectos positivos que negativos’ según los parámetros del cuestionario DREEM.(AU)

Introduction: The educational environment is everything that surrounds the student in an educational community. This has currently taken on a lot of relevance, since its dependence on the teaching-learning process is known, serving as a basis to generate social transformation and significant development for students. Despite this, this turns out to be different in each institution and depend on the student’s own perception. This is why this research aims to describe the perception of the educational environment of the students of the School of Dentistry of the University of Valparaíso. Subjects and methods: A Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) survey was administered to 117 students in grades 3rd-6th who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data were analyzed using Excel and JASP software with chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis’s statistics. Results: Of the 117 DREEM surveys, an average of 111.9 points was obtained. In the dimension (D) 1 a 56% indicated a positive perception; in D2 a 53% indicated good direction in teaching perception; in D3 a 67% indicated an academic, selfperception positive; in D4 53% considered that the environment can improve and in D5 45% that it is not a good environment. All dimensions had a statistically significant association and equality between their means. Conclusion: The students evaluated the dentistry career at the University of Valparaíso as ‘more positive than negativeaspects’ according to the parameters of the DREEM questionnaire.(AU)

Development of a pharmacy educational environment questionnaire.

INTRODUCTION: A robust instrument for measuring the educational environment in a pharmacy patient care setting is currently lacking. The authors aimed to develop a person-reported outcome measure to gauge trainee pharmacists' perceptions of their clinical workplace-based educational environment. This paper reports the various sources of validity evidence. METHODS: A preliminary, three-domain (system, relationship, and personal), 36-item measurement instrument was developed by incorporating results from literature review, focus group interviews, iterative discussions among educators, and cognitive interviews. The preliminary instrument, together with the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) and Orientation to Happiness Scale (OHS), were administered to trainee pharmacists recruited from one pharmacy school and one healthcare cluster in Singapore. Rasch analysis was conducted on the overall instrument as well as three domains: System, Relationship, and Personal. RESULTS: The 36-item instrument was administered to 145 learners, of which 66 were trainee pharmacists and 79 undergraduate interns. Upon removal of the middle "neutral" category to resolve poorly functioning categories and removal of five poorly functioning items, the overall instrument and its domains generally showed good fit with the Rasch model. Moreover, the overall 31-item Singapore Pharmacy Educational Environment Questionnaire (SPEEQ) and its three domains showed moderate to high convergent correlation with all the five DREEM domains and low to non-significant divergent correlation with the OHS Pleasure of Life subscale. CONCLUSIONS: Among one sample of pharmacy trainees, the 31-item SPEEQ and its three component domains demonstrated notable validity evidence to gauge trainees' perceptions of their learning environment.

Navigating post COVID-19 education: an investigative study on students' attitude and perception of their new normal learning environment.

Background: The incidence and aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a drastic change in health professional education around the world. Traditional classrooms made way for online classrooms in order to ensure that learning continued in a safe and secure environment. However, how well health professional students perceived and accepted these changes have not been fully gauged yet. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the perception of health professional students about their new educational climate. Methods: A modified and validated Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was used to collect data regarding student perception of their educational environment. Results: The mean DREEM scores for three time periods were in the accepted positive range of 101 to 150 indicating that most of the students perceived the changes positively. The results indicated that most students preferred blended learning over online learning or face-to-face learning alone. Areas where students were unsatisfied with their learning environment that need improvement were identified by poor item-wise scores. Conclusion: Strategic remedial measures for these concerns need to be developed to improve the quality of education received by the students. However, the results of our study indicated that most of the students were able to adapt positively to the new education environment due to the change in the circumstances during COVID.

Post-graduate educational environment of two parallel programs in Pediatric Medicine.

Objective: To compare the trainees' perception of the Educational Environment (EE) of the two parallel post-graduate training programs (MD & FCPS) in Pediatric Medicine. Methods: This quantitative cross-sectional study was carried out by Department of Medical Education UOL and Department of Pediatric Medicine KEMU from February to December 2021. Data about the perception of EE was collected from the Pediatric Medicine trainees by purposive sampling using the 40 items PHEEM inventory. The inventory has three perception domains: role autonomy, teaching, and social support. In addition, to mean scores, the inventory also gives interpretation according to the score ranges. The FCPS and MD trainees of both genders and all years of training across the institutions of Punjab were approached using Google Forms. SPSS (v 23.0) was used for descriptive and analytic statistics. Results: A total of 327 trainees' responses were included-188 (57.5%) FCPS and 139 (42.5%) MD trainees. The mean overall score was 92±19.7 for FCSP and 93.88±21.5 for MD trainees (p-value 0.41). The interpretation of the overall score was "more positive than negative but room for improvement" in 67.3%. For the subscales of role autonomy, teaching, and social support, the perception was positive by 71%, 80%, and 45% of trainees, respectively. Except for three individual items, the mean scores of the subscales and the individual items were not statistically different between the two groups. Conclusion: The Pediatric Medicine trainees' perception of the educational environment in the FCPS and MD groups was comparable overall and in all three domains. Individual item analysis showed almost similar areas for improvement in both programs.

Cultural and educational environment in the development of younger schoolchildren's creative potential.

The purpose of our research is to study the creative potential as psychological capacities for younger schoolchildren's creative self-realization and self-development in various conditions of the educational environment. The methodological basis of this work is Vygotsky's conceptual provisions according to which the human psyche is culturally determined, and a sociocultural environment is considered to be the main source and condition for the child's mental development. The study involved younger schoolchildren (a total of 160 children from the 4th grade aged 9-10 years, n = 160, M = 9.5 years, SD = 2.6; 49% boys) from schools in Kazan (Russian Federation). We used a test of verbal creativity when studying the creative potential of younger schoolchildren, the proposed method is a Russian-language adapted version of the RAT test (remote association test) by Mednik. The Johnson Creativity Inventory was used as adapted by Tunick. To study the level of communicative control, the test "Diagnostics of communicative control" by Schneider was used. To assess the personal qualities of younger students, we used a modified version of the children's personality questionnaire intended for 8-12 year-old children and developed by Cattell and Koan. As a result of a comprehensive expert assessment, we identified four types of schools with different severity degrees of essential characteristics of educational environments: serene, dogmatic, career and creative. According to the analysis of variance (one-dimensional one-factor ANOVA), the younger schoolchildren's creative potential was revealed in the context of the educational environment variability and the contingency of the educational environment parameters with the personal characteristics of the children. We have empirically confirmed that in a creative educational environment with cultural content based on ethno-cultural values, patterns and norms, the development of the child is actively supported largely, with the disclosure of his creative potential. Younger schoolchildren are characterized by greater subjective agency and the capability to gain unique achievements in educational and cognitive activity.

The Impact of Director’ Leadership, Educational Environment, Teacher Efficacy and Extracarricular Sports Programs on Job Satisfaction of Kindergarten Teachers / El impacto del liderazgo de los directores, el entorno educativo, la eficacia docente y los programas deportivos extracarriculares en la satisfacción laboral de los docentes de jardín de infantes

The role of kindergarten teachers as a viable alternative to childcare is becoming increasingly important due to the rising amount of time children spend in educational institutions compared to the time, they spend with their parents in the home environment. The primary aim of this research is to assess the influence of directorial leadership, the educational environment, teacher efficacy, and extracurricular programmes on the level of job satisfaction experienced by kindergarten teachers. This study includes a sample size of 256 kindergarten teachers. The research findings were subjected to analysis using Smart PLS 4 software, employing the Partial Least Squares (PLS) algorithm and the Bootstrapping method. The findings of the empirical study indicate a positive correlation between the leadership of directors, the educational environment, teacher efficacy, and extracurricular programmes with the job satisfaction of kindergarten teachers. This study holds both theoretical and practical significance, as its findings demonstrate the potential to enhance the working environment for teachers responsible for primary childhood education. Additionally, it provides fundamental data that can contribute to the improvement of children's learning abilities and offers a foundation for policymaking that takes into account the health education of teachers.(AU)

Robotic-Assisted Surgery Training (RAST): Assessment of Surgeon Console Ergonomic Skills.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the responsiveness of postgraduate year (PGY) general surgery residents (GSRs) to surgeon console ergonomics within the robotic-assisted surgery training (RAST) program. DESIGN: This was a prospective educational study. GSRs were prepared with a pretraining educational video. Faculty provided one-on-one resident hands-on training and testing. Nine proficiency criteria (emergency stop & recover; left side pod adjustments; touchpad controls; footswitch panel; energy control pedals; camera control & focus; arm swap; master & finger clutch; dual console settings control) were assessed with a 5-point Likert-scale. Responsiveness was defined as change in performance over time. The robotic platform was Da Vinci Xi (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA). The Dundee ready educational environment measure (DREEM) inventory was used by GSRs to assess the educational environment. SETTING: Tertiary care academic teaching institution. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 22 GSRs: 4 PGY 1, 4 PGY 2, 4 PGY 3, 5 PGY 4, 5 PGY 5. RESULTS: From June 2022 to March 2023 the hands-on console time decreased at testing when compared to baseline: median 39.0 (range 37-41) vs 20.1 (range 19-22) minutes, respectively. There was no difference in mean hands-on testing scores stratified by PGY: 4.85±0.4 PGY1; 4.98 ± 0.3 PGY2; 4.86 ± 0.4 PGY3, 4.88 ± 0.2 PGY4, and 4.91 ± 0.1 PGY5 (ANOVA test; p = 0.095). The overall DREEM score was 167.1 ± 16.9 with CAC = 0.908 (excellent internal consistency). CONCLUSIONS: Training in ergonomics on the surgeon console impacted the responsiveness of the GSRs with 51% console time reduction. There were no differences in hands-on testing scores among PGYs. Perception of the educational environment by the GSRs was high.

3-year medical education in North America: A student perspective.

There has been a rise in the amount of medical schools in the United States and Canada that are offering 3-year programs to graduation. From a student perspective, there are numerous pros and cons with the authors overall being in favor of an accelerated medical education.

Association of educational environment with the prevalence of myopia: a cross-sectional study in central China.

Purposes: This study was to estimate the prevalence of myopia among primary school students in Hefei, China, and evaluate the association of educational environment with myopia. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study, and recruited primary school students in grades 1-6. Children underwent a stepwise ophthalmic examination, which included visual acuity and objective cycloplegic refraction to identify children with myopia. Under the guidance of parents, children completed a questionnaire, including gender, region, grade and several indicators related to education. The study analyzed the risk factors by using a logistic regression and assessed feature importance by using a random forest algorithm. Results: A total of 3,596 primary school students were involved in this analysis, and the overall prevalence of myopia was 27.1%. Gender, grade, education level of the father, education level of the mother, academic level of children, hours of homework per day on weekends, number of after-school tutoring per week and frequency of extracurricular reading were significantly associated with myopia. There was no significant association between the amount of homework per day on school days and myopia after adjusting for covariates. In terms of educational environment, the top 3 factors were academic level of children, homework on weekends and after-school tutoring. Conclusions: Educational environment with high educational loads was associated with the high prevalence of myopia. Reducing the burden of studying, especially that after class, was an effective way to prevent myopia.

Bioecological profiles of preschool children's individual, familial, and educational characteristics, and their relations with school adjustment, academic performance, and executive function in first grade.

This study investigates the relationships between distinct bioecological profiles of individual, familial, and educational characteristics of preschool children and their school adjustment, academic performance, and executive function in first grade. Data on 11 indicators of personal and environmental characteristics were collected from 1,016 five-year-old Korean preschoolers using a national-level open dataset. Latent profile analysis identified five profiles that were associated with different levels of school adjustment, academic performance, and executive function one year later when the preschoolers became first graders. The "Good Social Competence by Good Familial Environment" profile was the most associated with levels of school adjustment, academic performance, and executive function. The "Good Social Competence by Good Educational Environment" profile was more associated with levels of school adjustment and executive function than the "Moderate" profile but less associated with these levels than the "Good Social Competence by Good Familial Environment" profile. Findings indicate that the environment, rather than individual characteristics of preschoolers, plays a more significant role in their elementary school adjustment, academic performance, and executive function, and that their familial environment plays a more significant role than their educational environment. The study highlights the importance of creating supportive familial environments for preschool children to improve their school adjustment, academic performance, and executive function in elementary school, and provides a useful guide for practitioners and policymakers seeking to improve children's academic and socioemotional outcomes.

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.

Integrated physical education and medicine in general physical education at universities in the age of educational technologies.

BACKGROUND: The integration of training sessions into modern education is of vital importance for such disciplines as Physical Education and First Aid for the non-core specialities. This research explored the opportunities to introduce a pilot programme for Sports Medicine based on the First Aid and Fitness Tests applications to develop critical thinking skills in students using an indirect learning method. METHODS: This research used the Fitness Tests application developed by the ConnectedPE software company. The software contains more than 30 fitness tests and indicates the goal, equipment, procedure and standards so that students can easily and accurately complete all tasks and improve their fitness. The experimental group involved 60 first-year students (25 females and 35 males). The average age is 18.2 years. The control group involved 28 males and 32 females with an average age of 18.3 years. Students were assigned randomly to groups to ensure the experiment's validity. RESULTS: The analysis of the pre-test and post-test of Critical Thinking Skills Success showed significant improvements in critical thinking skills (Z = -6.755 at p = 0.00) based on the integrated sports medicine programme. A negative correlation was observed between the post-test scores of Critical Thinking Skills Success and the Integrated Sports Medicine Test (r = -0.280, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This article fills a gap in research on the possibility of integrating physical education and medicine into one ICT-based university course that would optimise study hours and develop critical thinking. The research's scientific value is to promote the discussion about the absence of a unified standard for the basic sports training of young individuals on a global scale. The practical significance lies in the enhanced development of critical thinking skills among students through integrated sports training sessions, as opposed to the conventional lecture format. The other important finding is the fact that the use of mobile applications and the development of a general programme in sports medicine have no positive impact or correlation with the academic outputs of students in these two disciplines. The research results can help educators to update curricula on physical education and extracurricular pre-medical training at universities. The perspective of this research is to integrate physical education with other academic disciplines, such as biology, mathematics, physics, and others, to determine the feasibility of this integration and investigate its effect on critical thinking.

Medical students' perceptions of the educational environment in a private medical school in Southwest Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: The educational environment plays a very important role in determining the overall performance of students. The aim of this study is to determine the perceptions of undergraduate medical students about their educational environment in a Nigerian university. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was an observational, cross-sectional study conducted among final-year (600 level) undergraduate medical students. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was used for the study to assess the educational environment of the medical students. RESULTS: A total number of 100 final-year (600 level) undergraduate medical students participated in the study, out of which 27 (27.0%) were males and 73 (73.0%) were females with a male-to-female ratio of 0.37 to 1. The age range of the respondents was 21-30 years with a mean (±SD) of 23.54 (±1.403). The total mean DREEM score was 116.2/200. The total score of SPL domain was 30.2/48 (62.9%). The total score of SPT domain was 27.3/44 (62.0%), while that of SASP was 19.2/32 (60.0%). The total score of SPA domain was 26.6/48 (55.4%) and that of SSP was 13.1/28 (46.8%). For the SPL, SPT, SASP, and SPA domains, the score was above 50%. However, for the SSP domain the score was less than 50%. CONCLUSIONS: The total mean DREEM score in this study was 116.2/200, more positives than negatives, with the students' social perspective having the least domain score. There is a need to provide adequate social support system for medical students in general and particularly for those who get stressed.

Ambiente educativo de estudiantes universitarios chilenos. Una mirada retrospectiva desde la pandemia de COVID-19 / Educational environment of Chilean university students. A retrospective look since the COVID-19 pandemic

Introducción: Se identificó la percepción del ambiente educativo (AE) en una muestra de estudiantes universitarios durante la pandemia de COVID-19 y se contrastó con otros hallazgos previos en tiempo de no pandemia. Sujetos y métodos: Se aplicó el cuestionario An assessment of the dundee ready education enviroment measure (DREEM) a 100 estudiantes con edad media de 22,57 ± 2,62 años y de segundo a quinto años de la carrera, además de algunos factores sociodemográficos generales. La información se analizó con el programa estadístico SPSS aplicando pruebas alfa de Cronbach (0,939), Shapiro-Wilk para hombres, Kolmogorov-Smirnov para mujeres y ANOVA al total de la muestra, además de estadísticos descriptivos para observar la distribución de variables de sexo y curso. Resultados: En la puntuación total del cuestionario no hubo diferencias significativas por sexo y la dispersión de las respuestas fue homogénea. La mayoría tuvo percepción positiva del AE; no obstante, los cursos superiores notificaron menor percepción de AE. El dominio ‘Percepción del profesorado’ fue el más alto, y el más bajo, ‘Autopercepción social’. Por sexos, no hubo diferencias estadísticas entre dominios. Conclusiones: Al contrastar los datos con los de otras investigaciones en período de no pandemia, las diferencias observadas fueron menores; discordantes en el dominio docente y coincidentes en el dominio de percepción social con manifestaciones de estrés.(AU)

Introduction: The perception of the educational environment (EA) was identified in a sample of university students, during the COVID-19 pandemic and it was contrasted with other previous findings in non-pandemic times. Subjects and methods: The An assessment of the dundee ready education environment measure (DREEM) questionnaire was applied to 100 students with a mean age of 22.57 ± 2.62 years and from the second to fifth years of the degree, in addition to some general sociodemographic factors. The information was analyzed with the statistical program SPSS applying Cronbach’s alpha tests (0.939), Shapiro-Wilk for men, Kolmogorov-Smirnov in women and Anova to the total sample, in addition to descriptive statistics to observe the distribution of variables sex and grade. Results: In the total score of the questionnaire there were no significant differences by sex and the dispersion of the responses was homogeneous. The majority had a positive perception of EA, however, the upper classes reported a lower perception of EA. The domain Perception of teachers was the highest, and the lowest was Social Self-perception. According to sex, there were no statistical differences between domains. Conclusions: When contrasting the data with those of other investigations in the non-pandemic period, the differences observed were minor, discordant in the teaching domain and coincident in the domain of social perception with manifestations of stress.(AU)

Curriculum reform and trainees' perception of the pharmacy educational environment: a modified DREEM study.

OBJECTIVES: An undergraduate pharmacy curriculum reform was undertaken to meet the future healthcare demands of the people in Singapore. Understanding how educational reforms affect the learners' perceptions of the learning environment is important for quality assurance. The primary aim of this study was to investigate how pharmacy trainees perceive their educational environment before and after curriculum reform. The secondary aim was to evaluate the strengths and areas for improvement of the educational environment in the new curriculum. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of pharmacy trainees in Singapore. A modified version of the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (mDREEM) was used to assess the pharmacy educational environment. Univariate analysis was used to compare the responses of trainees from the old and new curricula. KEY FINDINGS: The sample comprised 523 (93.7%) responses from the old and 677 (94.6%) from the new curriculum. The global mean scores for the mDREEM survey in the old and new curriculums were 150.4 and 156.2, respectively (P < 0.001). These results indicate that there was an increase in satisfaction with the new educational environment. In the new curriculum, the perceived educational environment varied across different pharmacy settings, and trainees rated their educational environment after graduation lower than that during their undergraduate training. CONCLUSION: The findings demonstrate that curricular reforms can alter trainees' perception of their educational environment. In our subgroup analyses, trainees' perceptions of their educational environment changed as they progressed from the undergraduate to the postgraduate training phase. Further work is needed to explore the cause-and-effect relationships between curriculum design and implementation and the resulting perceived educational environment.