TY - JOUR T1 - The quality of the educational environment in a medical college in Saudi Arabia AU - Altemani, A.H. AU - Merghani, T.H. KW - dundee ready educational environment measure KW - students' perception of learning KW - students' perception of teachers KW - students' social self-perception KW - atmosphere KW - saudi arabia KW - PY - 2017/04/14 Y1 - 2017/03/19 VL - 8 N1 - doi: 10.5116/ijme.58ce.55d2 DO - 10.5116/ijme.58ce.55d2 M3 - doi: 10.5116/ijme.58ce.55d2 JO - Int J Med Educ SP - 128 EP - 132 PB - IJME SN - 2042-6372 UR - http://www.ijme.net/archive/8/educational-environment-in-saudi-arabia/ L1 - http://www.ijme.net/archive/8/educational-environment-in-saudi-arabia.pdf N2 - Objectives: The study aimed to examine the quality of the educational environment in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and to compare between male and female students using the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM).  Methods: We utilized a cross-sectional survey design.  Participants were 221 medical students (96 males and 125 females) from all classes (1st to 6th year). Each participant responded to a translated version of the DREEM questionnaire that measures five domains: 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). Numerical differences between male and female students were analyzed using the Student's t-test. Results: The global average score of female students was significantly higher (105.0±22.9, 53% of maximum score) than male students (98.3±24.3, 49% of maximum score; t= -2.119, p= 0.035). The major gender difference was found in the SPT domain, with a higher score in the females (60%) compared to the male (50%) cohort (t = -5.519, p = 0.000). Differences in the other domains were statistically insignificant. Out of the 50 DREEM items, the items that need attention were 32 and 23 on the male and the female sides respectively. Conclusions: The perception of the educational environment by the female students is significantly better than male students. The study provides valuable information about many educational problems that need attention. DREEM-based surveys are highly recommended for periodic monitoring of the educational environment. ER -