A DREEM Based Appraisal of Educational Environment at Dental Colleges: Comparing Pakistan and Turkey

Abstract

This study was conducted to establish a baseline DREEM score for a Pakistani private dental college and a private dental college of Turkey, to compare the educational environment as perceived by the dental students' of the two institutes and provide insight into the aspects of dental education that are in need of improvement. METHODOLOGY: It's a cross-sectional, questionnaire based study conducted at Bahria University Medical and Dental College, Karachi (BUMDC) and a private dental college of Istanbul, Turkey between December 2018 and March 2019. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure was filled out by first, second and third year undergraduate dental students at both the institutes. Ethical approval was obtained from ethical review committee of BUMDC after consent was taken from the head of the Turkish institute. RESULTS: Global DREEM mean score of the two institutes was 116.6 ± 20.7. The overall DREEM score of Bahria University was 119.3 ±24.3 while of Turkish dental institute was 113.8±.16.1, with p-value = 0.000. Institutional DREEM depicts a student perception that is predominantly positive. In both the institutes, the perception regarding the social atmosphere (Students' Social Self Perception) scored lowest as compared to all other domains. CONCLUSION: Over all the educational environment at both the institutes is satisfactory however this study has highlighted a need for reforms to improve the social and teaching atmosphere. Despite the overall positive trend, the institutes have yet to achieve excellent status for educational environment. One can learn from the Turkish university in terms of how the social atmosphere can be improved, while the Turkish dental college can benefit by implementing a more student centered teaching methodology.

University students' perceptions of shifting between online and offline learning: lessons from Kerala, India

“…Studies done in the global north perceived online programs as appropriate ways of teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, while the global south reported a negative attitude towards online education (Arthur-Nyarko and Kariuki, 2019; Cheng et al. , 2021; Zafar et al. , 2020; Kaurani et al.…”

“…Studies done in the global north perceived online programs as appropriate ways of teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, while the global south reported a negative attitude towards online education (Arthur-Nyarko and Kariuki, 2019;Cheng et al, 2021;Zafar et al, 2020;Kaurani et al, 2021;Kabir et al, 2021;Yan et al, 2021). More than two-thirds of the university students perceived moderate to high levels of e-learning stress in Bangladesh (Kabir et al, 2021).…”

Perceptions of Dental Undergraduates Towards Online Education During COVID-19: Assessment from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka

“…The educational environment can directly or indirectly affect learning, and includes several components, such as rooms for lectures, tutorials and clinical activities, facilitators and barriers of learning, learning opportunities, atmosphere created by fellow students; and faculty including teaching, clinical and administrative staff. 16,40 This can possibly impact the behavior of students, their approach towards studies, and the educational outcomes, given the wellestablished association between students' perception towards the educational environment and their academic performance. 17,20,41,42 Another critical component, investigated throughout the study, was transferable skills pertaining to patient care.…”

“…8,9,15 Educational environment encompasses the infrastructure, behavior of the teachers, fellow students, and the teaching methodology used. 16 Educational environment has a considerable impact on the effectiveness of curriculum and educational outcomes, with an increased emphasis on transferable skills in dental education. 16,17 Successful dental teaching methodology intends to deliver transferable skills, including patient care and critical skills, teamwork, and health promotion.…”

“… 16 Educational environment has a considerable impact on the effectiveness of curriculum and educational outcomes, with an increased emphasis on transferable skills in dental education. 16 , 17 Successful dental teaching methodology intends to deliver transferable skills, including patient care and critical skills, teamwork, and health promotion. 18 Pandemic-related lockdowns forced the switch to online teaching in order to continue providing education.…”