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

Abstract

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.