Evaluation of the Undergraduate Learning Environment at Dental Schools in Syria

Alfakhry, Ghaith; Mustafa, Khattab; AlMukhallalati, Ahmad; Alhomsi, Khaled; Saymeh, Rowaida; Jamous, Issam

doi:10.1016/j.identj.2022.12.001

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…One possible explanation for this result is that faculty members-who are mostly males according to our knowledge-usually have a more empathetic attitude towards female medical students than their male counterparts, and this explanation has been proposed in a study on medical students in Egypt that found female students less likely than male students to report relationship problems with teachers as a source of stress [37]. It is beyond the scope of this study to investigate the differences between different healthcare fields; nevertheless, for comparison, the DREEM scores reported for medical schools in Syria were lower than their dental school counterparts [38]. DU and TU dental schools scored 105.9 and 111.1 in comparison to 100.8 and 97.8 found in the current study [38]; DU Pharmacy School scored even lower on the DREEM scale (mean score = 89.8) [39] Connecting the phenomenon to the context The Syrian medical school context is still considered largely different than any other.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…It is beyond the scope of this study to investigate the differences between different healthcare fields; nevertheless, for comparison, the DREEM scores reported for medical schools in Syria were lower than their dental school counterparts [38]. DU and TU dental schools scored 105.9 and 111.1 in comparison to 100.8 and 97.8 found in the current study [38]; DU Pharmacy School scored even lower on the DREEM scale (mean score = 89.8) [39] Connecting the phenomenon to the context The Syrian medical school context is still considered largely different than any other. First, Syria has been undergoing a civil war since 2011; the war caused major internal and external displacement, led to the deterioration of the quality of life and the population suffered from major physical, psychological, and social trauma.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Moreover, increasing the students' intake on the account of education quality might decrease the school output of competent doctors who are well-trained to respond effectively to the healthcare demands of the Syrian population [9]. Considering the possible negative implications of the insufficient teaching capacity to accommodate the large number of students on education quality and learning environment [15,38], increasing the medical students' yearly intake might be an indirect contributing factor to medical students' exodus from Syria.…”

Section: What Are the Implications Of Having An Unfavorable Learning ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Revealing the significant shortcomings in the learning environment at the three largest medical schools in Syria: what’s next?

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Background Medical education in Syria still adopts a traditional, teacher-centered curriculum to this day. These elements imply the existence of issues in the learning environment (LE). This study aims to provide the first evaluation of the LE at the largest medical schools in Syria using the DREEM inventory. Methods The three largest medical schools in Syria are the ones at Damascus University (DU), University of Aleppo (AU), Tishreen University (TU). The Arabic version of the DREEM questionnaire was used. Students across all years of study except year 1 were approached. Both paper-based and electronic surveys were conducted. Results A total of 1774 questionnaire forms were completed (DU:941, AU:533, TU: 300). The overall DREEM score at DU, AU, and TU were 100.8 ± 28.7, 101.3 ± 31.7, and 97.8 ± 35.7 respectively with no significant difference (P = 0.254) between the three universities. DREEM subscales concerning Learning, Atmosphere, Academic Self-perception and Social Self-perception had a low score across all universities. Clinical-stage students reported significantly lower perception (P ≤ 0.001) of the LE in comparison to their pre-clinical counterparts across all subscales. Conclusions The findings of this study highlight the significant shortcomings of the medical LE in Syria. If not addressed properly, the academic, clinical, and professional competence of the healthcare workforce will continue to deteriorate. Moreover, the negative LE might be a predisposing factor for medical students’ exodus. The Syrian medical education system requires leaders who are willing to defy the status quo to achieve a true educational transformation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: What Are the Implications Of Having An Unfavorable Learning ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Revealing the significant shortcomings in the learning environment at the three largest medical schools in Syria: what’s next?

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“…A recent study from Syria also found that students’ perception of the quality of the learning environment significantly varied across their public dental schools. [ 28 ] However, it included all-year students of the dental program and measured their perceptions using the DREEM inventory.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Undergraduate Students’ Experience of Dental Education Programs across Saudi Arabia: An Exploratory Study

Kuwaiti

2024

Saudi Journal of Medicine &Amp; Medical Sciences

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Background: Students’ satisfaction surveys are valuable tools for assessing and improving the quality of education being imparted. Limited data are available from Saudi Arabia regarding students experience at halfway through an undergraduate dental program. Objective: To determine students’ perception of their halfway experience on various attributes of the quality of dental education programs in public dental schools across Saudi Arabia. Methods: This exploratory study included all students from four major public universities who had completed their third year of undergraduate dental education during the academic year 2022–23. A previously validated, self-administered, 23-item Students Experience Survey was modified and used to collect data regarding the following five factors: course characteristics, infrastructure and facilities, learning resources, instructor characteristics, and program efficacy. Results: The questionnaire was administered to 296 students, of which 252 (85.1%) responded. Overall, 84% of the students had a positive experience regarding the quality of the dental education programs. Females reported significantly higher positive experiences than males (mean score: 4.36 vs. 4.21, respectively; P = 0.042). Course characteristics (P = 0.041), instructors’ characteristics (P = 0.002), and program efficacy (P = 0.009) were significant predictors of students’ overall experience. Conclusion: This study found that the majority of students had a positive halfway experience with the quality of dental education programs offered in Saudi Arabia. The significant predictors of satisfaction identified in this study can be useful for policymakers to further improve satisfaction levels.

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“…Previous studies reported the validity and reliability of the DREEM questionnaire ( Roff, 2005 ; Roff et al ., 1997 ). The internal consistency of DREEM as measured by the Cronbach’s alpha measure was over 0.90 in study conducted in 2023 on a sample of Syrian medical and dental students ( Alfakhry et al ., 2023a ; Alfakhry et al ., 2023b ; Rotthoff et al ., 2011 ). Additionally, the DREEM questionnaire was used previously to evaluate the LE at pharmacy schools ( Bashir et al ., 2020 ; Wong et al ., 2015 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gauging the learning environment at Damascus University Pharmacy School in Syria using the DREEM questionnaire: A cross-sectional study

Alfakhry¹,

Saymeh²,

Jamous³

et al. 2023

MedEdPublish

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Introduction: This study was undertaken to provide the first record of evaluation of the educational environment of the Bachelor of Pharmacy program at Damascus University (DU), Syria using the internationally adopted Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) tool and compare it with other pharmacy schools around the world. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at DU Pharmacy School in 2022. The validated DREEM 50-item inventory was added to Google Forms and used to collect data electronically. River sampling and snowball sampling methods were used. Data was collected during the second term between April 2022 and June 2022. Students from all years were included. Results: A total of 269 students completed the questionnaire; that is about 6.7% of the total population. The Cronbach’s alpha of the DREEM questionnaire was 0.94. The total DREEM score was 89.8±32.1/200. Senior students scored significantly less on the DREEM scale than their younger counterparts. DU Pharmacy School scored significantly less on the total DREEM score than its other counterparts around the world with a large effect size (d>0.80). All subscales scored below 50% and the lowest scoring subscales were students’ perception of learning (SPL=41.8%) and students’ perception of the social environment (SSP=42.5%). Conclusions: The findings implied that the educational environment is in need of major improvement, especially in areas related to teaching and learning practices and the general social environment; failure to address the current issues in the learning environment might hinder learning and clinical practice of the future generation of pharmacists. This study provides a quality improvement map which could be used preciously address the areas that need most attention at DU Pharmacy School.

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Evaluation of the Undergraduate Learning Environment at Dental Schools in Syria

Cited by 15 publications

References 39 publications

Revealing the significant shortcomings in the learning environment at the three largest medical schools in Syria: what’s next?

Revealing the significant shortcomings in the learning environment at the three largest medical schools in Syria: what’s next?

Undergraduate Students’ Experience of Dental Education Programs across Saudi Arabia: An Exploratory Study

Gauging the learning environment at Damascus University Pharmacy School in Syria using the DREEM questionnaire: A cross-sectional study

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