ABSTRACT
Gulf Medical College, United Arab Emirates, underwent a major curriculum change from a discipline-based to an organ system-based integrated curriculum. However, it was not known whether the faculty perceptions of the student experiences in the new integrated curriculum actually align with those of the students. In this context, the study compared the perceptions of faculty and students of the student experiences in the newly introduced integrated curriculum. Data were collected from the faculty and second year students in the integrated curriculum using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure [DREEM]. As the DREEM Questionnaire was originally developed to give only the students' perceptions of the educational environment, the faculty DREEM Questionnaire was modified in our study to assess the perceptions of the faculty about the student experiences in our institution. Data collected were transferred to PASW-18. Global and domain scores were assessed with Wilcoxon Rank Sum test. Percentage agreement, disagreement and uncertainly were assessed by z test for proportion. There were no significant differences between the total DREEM scores of faculty [139/200] and students [135/200]. The faculty perceived that the students were experiencing significantly more positive learning as indicated by the domain score of "Students' Perceptions of Learning". Proportions of agreement between faculty and students showed that more faculty members than students perceived increased to students and a greater emphasis on long term learning. The study showed that the faculty and students' perceptions were similar about the student experiences in the integrated curriculum. Areas necessitating remedial measures were learning constructive feedback techniques by the faculty and emphasis on long term learning in the new curriculum