Student’s Perception of the Learning Environment in Ethiopian Medical Schools: Evidence from Jimma University Medical Centre

Abstract

This study investigated medical students’ perception of the quality of the learning environment at Jimma University Medical Centre (JUMC), Jimma, Ethiopia. For this, a cross-sectional survey design was conducted at the clinical attachment wards in JUMC. The authors used the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) inventory tool, self-administered to 323 different clinical years of undergraduate medical students enrolled at the clinical attachment wards during the study period. The questionnaire consisted of five domains: student perception of learning (SPL), student perception of teacher (SPT), student academic self-perception (SAP), student perception of the atmosphere (SPA), and student social self-perception (SSSP). Mean, standard deviation, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were computed using the SPSS, IBM 20 software to analyse the data. The overall DREEM mean score was 111.35 ± 13.67 from the maximum score of 200. In this study, female students reported a significantly higher overall mean score than male students. In addition, Clinical year I students had a more positive perception of the learning environment than their senior batches. The overall mean score demonstrates that students had a more positive perception of their learning environment. However, some areas need to be revised across all five domains of the learning environment to make improvements.