The Postgraduate Educational Environment at a United Kingdom Dental School: A Quantitative Study Using a Modified Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure Questionnaire.

Abstract

Introduction: Quantitative research on postgraduate (PG) dental students' perceptions of their educational environment is lacking. The aim of this research was to increase our understanding of taught PG dental students' educational environment.

Methods: A modified Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was distributed to PG students at the University of Bristol Dental School. DREEM scores in relation to five domains (learning, teaching, academic, atmosphere and social), as well as total DREEM scores, were derived. In addition, demographic and global questions relating to blended learning and teaching support were captured. DREEM domain and total scores were summarised using medians, interquartile ranges and full ranges. Demographic data and answers to additional global questions were categorised as frequencies and percentages.

Results: Thirty-four participants (50% response rate) from four different taught PG programmes responded. Total DREEM scores suggest most PG students' perceived educational environment to be 'excellent' (55.9%) or 'more positive than negative' (41.2%). The highest scoring domain was teaching, while the lowest scoring was social. Global questions indicated good teaching support and acceptance of blending learning, although the reduced face to face peer/teacher contact did not meet the needs of some (20.5%) participants.

Conclusions: Although the DREEM measure has been used widely in dental training, its use has been limited in PG dental settings. The teaching and learning environment at the University of Bristol was rated highly. The lower social scoring highlights potential deficiencies within the educational environment of these PG students.