Student's perception of the learning environment at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences

A learning environment is all of the physical surroundings، psychological or emotional conditions، and social or cultural influences affecting the growth and development of a learner in an educational institution. Learning environment is an important determinant of high quality learning. Elements of the educational environment are related to academic achievement and course satisfaction. Thus، the aim of this study was to assess the educational environment at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences based on students'' point of view. A cross-sectional study was carried out at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. A total of 374 students were selected randomly and the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) was used for data collection. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 11. 5 and descriptive and analytical statistics such as the mean، the independent samples t test and one-way ANOVA. A total of 340 students (90. 9%) completed the DREEM. The overall DREEM score was 100. 26 out of a maximum 200. It represents an average educational environment. The highest DREEM score mean was 23. 03 out of maximum 44 (52. 35%) in students’ perceptions of the teachers (representing moving in the right direction) and the lowest DREEM score mean was 22. 23 out of maximum 48 (46. 5%) in students’ perceptions of the learning (representing negative attitude to learning). The difference of mean scores in faculties were statistically significant in all of the DREEM domains except teacher domain (p <0. 05). There was no statistically significant difference between male and female students for the DREEM subscale scores. The finding of this study showed that students’ perceptions of the educational environment are average and there is a room for improvement in all domains of educational environment. But، improvements are needed more in learning and social self-perception domains.