Perception of physical therapy students about educational environment in physical therapy institutes in Pakistan

Abstract

It aimed to assess the perception of doctor of physical therapy (DPT) students about an educational environment in public and private physical therapy institutes in Pakistan. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 6 physical therapy institutions of Punjab, Pakistan from April 2018 to December 2019. A total of 500 Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaires were distributed among conveniently selected students of doctor of physical therapy with response rate, 86.4%. The correlation was tested for each of the items in the DREEM score. It showed the overall mean DREEM score of 128 (+/- 19.63) in all the 5 subscales. The score ranged from 33 to 166 with a standard error mean of 0.954. Correlation analysis for atmosphere, learning, and self-perception with the whole educational environment in physical therapy institutes as r = 0.896, r = 0.853, and r = 0.846 respectively. The student-centered approaches to be more effective toward an educational environment than teacher-centered in subjected institutes.