Medical students’ perceptions of educational environment in a public school of medicine in Jordan: insights based on Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM)

Abstract

The educational environment is a key determinant of medical students’ academic performance, professional development, and psychological well-being. Systematic assessment of this environment in Jordanian medical schools is lacking. This study aimed to evaluate medical students’ perceptions of their learning environment at a public school of medicine in Jordan using the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM), and to examine associations of these perceptions with year of study, academic performance, gender, nationality, and socioeconomic status. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 491 undergraduate medical students across all six academic years. The validated Arabic DREEM questionnaire was administered electronically and in person. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23; between-group comparisons used the Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests with Dunn's post-hoc analysis. Significance was set at p  < 0.05. The median total DREEM score was 121 (IQR 99–140), indicating a generally positive educational environment. The highest subscale scores were for perceptions of teachers (SPT = 28.02 ± 7.74) and learning (SPL = 26.99 ± 8.31), while social self-perception (SSSP = 14.38 ± 4.78) was the lowest. Pre-clinical students reported significantly higher perceptions of atmosphere (SPA) than clinical students ( p  = 0.006). Higher GPA correlated positively with SPA ( p  = 0.014) and SSSP ( p  = 0.012). No significant differences were observed by gender, nationality, or scholarship status. Students at the University of Jordan perceive their educational environment positively overall. However, some deficiencies in student mental health support and social well-being infrastructure require institutional attention, particularly for students in clinical years. Investment in mental health services, mentorship programs, and interactive teaching methodologies are recommended.