Medical Students Perception of the Educational Environment at Dar Al Uloom University Using the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure [DREEM] Tool

Education is a lifelong journey influenced by various factors, with the Educational Environment [EE] being one of the most significant factor. This environment includes all elements that impact learning, academic performance and the overall quality of education. In medical education, where the stakes are high, the EE can be particularly competitive and stressful. Understanding and evaluating this environment is crucial for ensuring it supports students effectively.

Study Design

This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire hosted by Online Surveys. Participants evaluated the educational program between July and September 2025. The DREEM questionnaire was electronically distributed to all students via WhatsApp.

The descriptive analysis was carried out in an attempt to determine how students saw the educational environment based on gender, academic year [basic or clinical] and GPA. Means of the five DREEM domains including Students Perception of Learning [SPL], Students Perception of Teachers [SPT], Students Academic Self-Perception [SASP], Students Perception of Atmosphere [SPA] and Students Social Self-Perception [SSSP] were calculated and analyzed. The findings give preliminary information on the relationships between the academic factors of students and differences in their perceptions about the educational environment.

Descriptive statistics in Table 1 and 2 of the domains and DREEM’s mean score of the students give valuable information about the perceptions of the students. In the case of the Perception of Learning [SPL] which contains 12 items, the mean score was 27.57 meaning a moderately positive perception although there exists some variation implying that there could be variation in individual experiences. Moreover, the mean of Perception of Teaching [SPT] which contains 11 items, was 22.46, which represents fair but weaker perception of the quality of teaching, with some students reporting very low scores. Item numbers 32, 37, 39 and 50 received the lowest score. Score of these items is less than 2 and it indicates problem area. In the case of Academic Self-Perception [SASP], which contains 8 items, the mean was 19.30 which indicates that students are generally reasonably positive and confident about their academic capabilities although there is also evidence of some struggle with the lowest score being zero. The Perception of Atmosphere [SPA] which contains 12 items, gave mean of 24.55, indicating a more positive attitude perception with a significant variance. Item numbers 33, 34, 42, 43 and 49 received score less than 2 which indicates problem area as well. In the social domain, the mean score of the students on the Social Self-Perception [SSSP], which contains 7 items, was 16.24, which indicates not too bad participants’ perceptions. Item numbers 4 and 15 received score less than 2 which indicates problem area. Lastly, the total DREEM Score was 110.12, indicating that it is more positive than a negative score based on the DREEM interpretation guidelines. This demonstrates that the general educational environment of the students is seen as somewhat satisfactory but not outstanding and some of its more specific aspects, especially quality of teaching and collage studying environment need to be improved.

Table 1: Mean [SD] DREEM Item Scores According to Domains

Table 2: Total Results of DREEM Domains [N = 79]

Furthermore, the researcher tested the relationship between the perceptions of students regarding the learning environment in relation to gender and academic variables including year of study and GPA respectively. The analysis also reveals some commonalities and differences in perceptions, which provide information on how these variables define the general experience of education. The descriptive statistics in Table 3 indicated that the male DREEM Score was 116.7 which was higher than female score [106.73]. Consistently, there were a few differences between the genders on the domains. Male students were slightly higher in all DREEM dimensions [SPL, SPT, SASP, SPA and SSSP]. Such disparities imply that male students were more likely to have a positive perception of their learning environment. However, the means of both groups were in the same range, which indicates that the perceptions of both genders were very similar.

Similarly, Figure 1 presented the overall DREEM Scorse year-wise. That indicates a certain amount of variability among domains. Specifically, the mean of DREEM score was declining as students’ academic level increased. DREEM score was 139 for the second-year and was 111 for both third-year and fourth-year students while reduced to 107 for the fifth-year students. Hence, the findings in Figure 1 presented declining trend with the second-year students scoring higher in all domains representing more positive perceptions in the learning, teaching, atmosphere, academics and social aspects. Conversely, students in their fifth year obtained lower scores especially on teaching and social, which implies that they may be exhausted, under greater academic strain or even discontented and accumulate stress in their older years.

Table 3: Descriptive Statistics of DREEM Domains by Gender

Figure 1: Mean Plot of Overall DREEM Scores across Academic Levels

From GPA analysis, the results of the descriptive achieved in the GPA categories represent different contrasts in the student views showed in Table 4. The scores for the 'Low GPA' group are notably different from the others, suggesting a possible difference in the scale or interpretation for this category. The Total DREEM Score shows a relatively consistent mean across the Moderate, Good and High GPA groups. The Good GPA group exhibiting the highest mean score [115.57] followed closely by the Moderate GPA group [114.07] and the High GPA group [108.05]. This suggests that students with Moderate and Good GPAs perceive the educational environment slightly more positively overall than those with High GPAs.

Table 4: Descriptive Statistics of DREEM Domains by GPA Score Categories

Independent-samples t-tests were applied to assess gender-based differences as presented in Table 5. In the case of SPL, there was no significant gender difference [t = 0.448, p = 0.655] thus, male and female students perceived learning inconsistently. Likewise, there was no significant difference in SPT [t = 0.797, p = 0.428] that indicates that the perceptions of teachers in both genders were similar. No significant difference was also observed in the SASP subscale between males and females [t = 1.176, p = 0.243]. In the case of SPA, the difference was not significant [t = 1.691, p = 0.095] although males scored slightly higher. There was however a notable difference in the case of SSSP [t = 2.860, p = 0.005] with male students indicating a higher score compared to the female students. This observation indicates that the differences in gender were only clear when it comes to perception of the social self-perception as male students reported more positive feelings than female students. In general, the majority of domains were not significantly different in terms of gender, meaning that the learning environment perceptions were not dramatically different in male and female students, with the exception of the social self-perception dimension.

Table 5: Independent Samples t-Test for Gender Differences in DREEM Subscales

Table 6: Comparison [This Study and Previous Study] - Dar Al Uloom University

The primary goal of the current study is to assess the educational environment [EE] at Dar Al Uloom University's College of Medicine. The EE is one of the most important factors that affect education, which is a lifelong journey. Understanding and carefully evaluating the EE is essential in the demanding field of medical education to make sure that it supports students and gets them ready for their future careers. In order to modernize the necessary changes to the medical curriculum, this study aims to discuss the findings from our EE assessment and relate them to previous research. The total DREEM score was 110.12/200, falling between 101 and 150, indicating a greater proportion of positive perceptions than negative ones [1].

As shown in Table 6, the observed DREEM score [110.12/200] is lower when compared to previous study that was conducted by Altamimi et al. [2] [122.49/200] at Dar Al Uloom University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The comparison reveals a notable negative shift in students' overall perception of the educational environment over the approximately four-year period, though the 2025 score still places the environment in the generally "More positive than negative" range. This overall decline is primarily driven by substantial drops in two specific domains: Atmosphere [5.06 points] and Teachers [4.54 points], indicating a less favorable view of the institutional environment and the faculty compared to the earlier study. In contrast, the students' perceptions of Academics [0.25-point drop] and Social Life [0.71-point drop] remained relatively stable. However, with Social Life continuing to be the lowest-rated domain in both years [16.95 and 16.24], highlighting a persistent area for improvement. Despite the overall decrease, Learning remains the highest-rated domain in the 2025 study [27.57], suggesting that students still hold a relatively positive view of the educational content and process, even as their perceptions of the university's atmosphere and faculty have diminished.

Likewise, these finding positions DAU comparably to several institutions in Saudi Arabia and internationally. The DAU score is very similar to the college of Medicine, Taibah University in Saudi Arabia [111.5/200] [3], the [112.3/200] for Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Saudi Arabia [4], the [112/200] observed at a new medical school, Saudi Arabia [5] and the study by Faculty of Medicine, King Fahad Medical City [KFMC] [118/200] [6]. Furthermore, the DAU's mean score demonstrates a more robust student perception compared to environments categorized as having "Plenty of problems," such as the [96.57/200] reported about Jazan medical school of Saudi Arabia [7]. The score also exceeds those slightly above the "Plenty of problems" threshold, like [102/200] at the four undergraduate medical schools, Saudi Arabia [8] and [105/200] at a medical school, Saudi Arabia [9].

However, a comparison against global benchmarks reveals significant room for improvement, particularly regarding best-in-class educational models. The DAU score falls short of environments classified as "Excellent," exemplified by the high scores of [136.8/200] achieved by another study at King Saud University Medical College, Saudi Arabia on 2017 [10], the 139/200 from the UK [11] and the top benchmark of 143/200 at Australia [12]. The substantial difference between the DAU score and these high-performing institutions highlights a potential need to refine pedagogical approaches, student support systems and the overall social atmosphere.

On the other hand, this study DREEM score is comparable to other studies from India [107/200, 114/200] [13,14], Sri Lanka [108/200] [15] and Trinidad 109/200 [16]. In fact, lowest score [89/200] has been reported from Saudi Arabia at the College of Medicine at King Saud University in 2008 [17] followed by [97/200] reported by a study of the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College [18]. However, many studies from various parts of the world have shown DREEM scores similar to those of the current study probably because of similar teaching methods [19].

The current study has explored the perceptions of medical students at DAU towards their learning environment in terms of DREEM framework and investigated the influence of academic factors in the development of these perceptions. The overall perception about educational environment [110.12/200] was more positive than negative and can be called healthy. The independent-samples t-test showed that there were no significant differences in the overall DREEM scores of the male and female students and they almost had the same perception. Meanwhile, the significant impact of the academic level and the GPA allow concluding that students’ perceptions are influenced by interpersonal and cultural determinants. These results have two implications. Firstly, medical schools need to maintain equitable learning environment of both genders but with particular emphasis on the improvement of social experiences of female students who might experience higher rates of difficulties in developing high-supporting peer relations. Secondly, the results support the necessity of student support systems, including mentorship programs, peer support groups and extracurricular activities, which would help to develop inclusive social participation independent of academic status.

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