Evaluation of Educational Atmosphere and Its Related Factors from the Point of View of the Students of Qom University of Medical Sciences in 2018, (Iran)

Background and Objectives: Evaluation of learning and teaching activities is one of the activities that is given emphasis and attention in the educational institutions. One of the diagnostic tools in this context is assessment of educational environment and educational space or, in other words, educational atmosphere. The aim of this study was to investigate the students' viewpoint about the educational atmosphere of Qom University of Medical Sciences.   Methods: This study was performed as a descriptive-analytical study 0n all the students studying in Qom University of Medical Sciences in 2018. Based on multi-stage sampling, 306 students were selected. Data collection tool was included a demographic characteristics questionnaire and DREEM standard questionnaire. Data were analyzed by independent t-test, one way ANOVA, Duncan's post-hoc test, and Pearson correlation coefficient at the significance level of p<0.05.   Results: The mean score of the educational atmosphere from the students' viewpoint was 114.1±23.3; 0.7% of the samples evaluated the educational atmosphere as undesirable, 24.8% semi-desirable, 69.3% desirable, and 5.2% very desirable. Based on the independent t-test results, in terms of gender, there were significant differences between the students' point of view on learning, educational environment, and social status; Also, the total score of educational atmosphere showed a significant difference in terms of gender (p<0.05). The results of ANOVA test showed that in terms of the collage, there was a significant difference between the students' viewpoint about learning (p=0.007). There was a significant positive correlation between the students' GPA and the educational atmosphere (r=0.307, p=0.022).   Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that educational atmosphere was desirable from the viewpoint of most of the students, and male students had more positive point of view on educational atmosphere of the university, compared to the female ones. In addition, students with higher GPA had more positive viewpoint about the educational atmosphere.