Perception of the educational environment by students from a public university in Northeastern Brazil

Abstract: Introduction: The quality of the educational environment is essential for effective learning in professional training. Objective: This research sought to identify and compare the educational environment perception of students from five different courses in health sciences graduation. Method: Cross-sectional, analytical study, quantitative approach, with 277 students from the courses of Physiotherapy, Nursing, Medicine, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy, enrolled in 2019, at a public university. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) instrument was used. This inventory has 50 closed questions punctuated on a Likert scale, which at the end, will assess five domains of the educational environment (learning, teachers, academic, atmosphere and social). The Kruskal-Wallis test was used (confidence interval of 95%) to compare the averages of the general score, individual items and domains between courses. Dunn’s method was used to multiply comparisons post hoc analyses. Result: The students’ general perception of their educational environment proved to be “more positive than negative”. The averages of learning, teachers, atmosphere and social domains presented differences between the courses (p