Assessment of learning environment among the first year Malaysian medical students

Objectives: 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]

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Methods: 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

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Results: 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]

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Conclusion: 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