Background: In a nursing programme, the main objective is to produce nursing graduates
who can provide comprehensive care and treatment to the community. A good approach to the
systematic design of a learning environment can lead to positive outcomes for graduates. The learning
environment is more than student-teacher interaction, teaching and learning activities. Good physical
structures and facilities provided by the university are important, too. Furthermore, the university
must also be concerned about meeting students’ psychosocial and emotional needs. The aim of this
study is to measure the learning environment by administering the Dundee Ready Educational
Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire to students across the four years of the Bachelor
of Nursing programme at the Faculty of Nursing, IIUM, and to identify areas for change that may
contribute to a more meaningful student learning experience.
Methods: The DREEM questionnaire was administered to 105 Bachelor of Nursing students at
IIUM.
Results: The total mean score on the 50-item DREEM inventory was 120.12 out of a maximum
of 200. Student perceptions of learning and their teachers, their academic self, social self and their
perception of the atmosphere were all positive. Eight items with low mean scores (less than two) on
the DREEM questionnaire were identified as requiring remediation.
Conclusion: The implications include the need to create and maintain a supportive environment,
in addition to designing and implementing interventions to remedy unsatisfactory elements of the
learning environment if effective and successful teaching and learning are to be realised. Thus,
specific remedial steps to improve the student learning environment of the Faculty of Nursing, IIUM
are described.
