This descriptive type of cross-sectional study was conducted with the aim to find out the students’ perceptions on educational environment of selected dental colleges in Bangladesh. The study was carried out in ten selected dental colleges (4 government & 6 non-government) of Bangladesh. Total sample size was 1169 of different years of BDS students. Dental colleges were selected purposively & data was collected from students by adopting convenience sampling technique. Data collection was done with self-administered semi-structured questionnaire with two open questions using Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measurement (DREEM) inventory with some modification. There were five subscales of DREEM for students. Study results revealed that total DREEM score of students were 142. Mean score of students’ perceptions by subscale of DREEM were “students’ perception of their learning (34.95); students’ perception of their teachers (30.36); students’ academic self-perception (24.94); students’ perception of educational atmosphere (32.82) and students’ social self-perception (18.83). All these values indicated that the students’ perception were in the right & mostly positive direction. Study recommended that significant attention should be paid in few problematic areas specially for “too much teacher centered learning and over emphasized factual learning. Study also recommended to improve the logistic support for students of dental colleges to ensure better educational environment of Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Education Vol.11(2) 2020: 27-33

This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted to identify the teachers’ & students’ views according to extracurricular activities influencing academic performance of undergraduate medical students. The study period was July 2017 to June 2018.The study was carried out among four phases of undergraduate medical students & teachers of basic science, para clinical & clinical subjects of four (04) government & four (04) non-government selected medical colleges of Dhaka & outside Dhaka. Medical colleges were selected purposively & convenience sampling technique was adopted for data collection. A self-administered semi-structured questionnaire using five points Likert scale were administered on 58 teachers & 1020 students to collect data & an interview schedule was used to conduct in-depth interviews with 15 medical teachers. Study revealed that according to views of the medical students, factors like drug addiction 922(90.6%) & student politics 835(82.0%) were negatively influencing academic performance of undergraduate medical students. On the other hand, factors like indoor-outdoor games 791(77.7%), cultural activities 611(60.0%) & social activities 658(64.7%) were positively influencing on their academic performance. Findings of the students’ views were consistent with the teachers’ views. In-depth interview of the teachers revealed that students should take part in extra-curricular activities alongside their study. But it should be in a balanced way so that they do not hamper their study. Teachers should encourage students to participate in extra-curricular activities. Study recommended that medical campus should be kept free from the unhealthy student politics. Study also recommended to prevent drug addiction, the parents should be aware & the college authority should have adequate monitoring in the student hostels & should strictly implement any measure if required. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Education Vol.11(1) 2020: 32-42