Pharmacy students’ perception of the post-merger educational environment in Fiji: A DREEM study

The merger of Fiji School of Medicine with other institutions to form Fiji National University in 2010 produced significant disruption. To determine the impact of this merger on the learning environment of the School during transition, this study analyzed undergraduate Bachelor of Pharmacy students’ perception of the post-merger learning environment. Years 2, 3, and 4 students were studied in February 2014. The 50 items Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was administered to consenting students, and responses were scored and analyzed. Total scores and scores within subscales were compared across classes, and with reported results from similar studies elsewhere. Problem areas were further analyzed for specific issues. Reliability was established by calculating Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the total scores. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.837. Mean total DREEM scores for all participants, 129/200, indicated that students perceived the learning environment “more positive than negative.” Within subscales, students had “more positive perception” of teaching and learning (score 31.3/48). Perception of lecturers (27.1/44) indicated things “moving in the right direction,” academic self-perception (24.9/32) was “confident,” learning atmosphere (29.4/48) was “a more positive attitude,” and social self-perception (17.1/28) was “not too bad.” These findings show that the students had “a more positive perception” of the learning environment across all the classes, and this is comparable to observations from other studies. This probably implies that the merger did not significantly affect the quality of the learning environment as seen by students.