{"id":72809,"date":"2025-03-18T09:45:40","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T01:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/?post_type=issues&#038;p=72809"},"modified":"2025-07-01T08:55:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T00:55:51","slug":"students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/","title":{"rendered":"Students\u2019 perception of a reduction in teaching weeks in a medical programme in Fiji"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Submitted: 17 April 2024<br \/>\r\nAccepted: 18 December 2025<br \/>\r\nPublished online: 1 April, TAPS 2025, 10(2), 65-70<br \/>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.29060\/TAPS.2025-10-2\/OA3336\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.29060\/TAPS.2025-10-2\/OA3336<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Rachael Tufui Masilomani<sup>1<\/sup><\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">, Sophaganie Jepsen<\/span><sup><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1<\/span><\/sup><span lang=\"EN-GB\">, Maria Lourdes Villaruel<\/span><sup><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1<\/span><\/sup><span lang=\"EN-GB\">, <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Aying Wang<\/span><sup><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1<\/span><\/sup><span lang=\"EN-GB\">,<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> Alena Kotoiwasawasa<\/span><sup><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1<\/span><\/sup><span lang=\"EN-GB\">, Lusiana Naikawakawavesi<\/span><sup><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1<\/span><\/sup><span lang=\"EN-GB\">, Norman Bartolome<\/span><sup><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1<\/span><\/sup><span lang=\"EN-GB\">, Claudia Paterson<sup>2<\/sup>, Andrew Hill<sup>2<\/sup> &amp; Maria Concepcion Bartolome<sup>1<\/sup><\/span><sup><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><\/sup><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><i><sup><span lang=\"EN-US\">1<\/span><\/sup><\/i><i><span lang=\"EN-US\">Basic Clinical Medicine, Fiji National University, Fiji; <sup>2<\/sup>Department of Surgery, Middlemore Hospital, University of Auckland, New Zealand<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Abstract<\/span><\/b><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Introduction:<\/span><\/b><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The MBBS programme at Fiji National University reduced its teaching weeks from 18 to 14 weeks in 2018. The purpose of this study was to assess student perceptions of learning and teachers following the reduction in the number of teaching weeks from 18 to 14 weeks.<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Methods:<\/span><\/b><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">A questionnaire was created using a modified Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (mDREEM) tool (23 items). This was comprised of two subscales; Students Perception of Learning (SPL \u2013 12 items) and Students Perception of Teachers (SPT \u2013 11 items). This was circulated to Year 5 MBBS students through an online survey in 2020.<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Results:<\/span><\/b><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> The response rate was 96%. The students regarded their educational environment as positive in both length of teaching weeks, with an overall mDREEM mean score of 63.29 in 18 weeks and 62.03 in 14 weeks. No statistically significant differences were found between 18 week and 14 week scores across mDREEM scores, SPL scores or SPT scores. The highest scoring item over both was \u2018teachers are knowledgeable\u2019.<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Conclusion:<\/span><\/b><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> A positive perception was noted for both lengths of teaching weeks. Reducing the teaching weeks from 18 to 14 did not statistically significantly reduce students\u2019 perception of their educational environment. Items identified with low scores will give a window of opportunity for lecturers and to improve these areas. Future studies may explore the use of the five subscales of the DREEM tool and this study can be integrated into further evaluations of educational environment at Fiji National University.<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Keywords<\/span><\/b><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">:<\/span><\/b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Medical Students, Educational Learning Environment, DREEM Tool, Fiji National University, Teaching, Medical Education<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Practice Highlights<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">mDREEM scores did not significantly differ between 18 weeks and 14 weeks of teaching.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The highest scoring item over both weeks was \u2018teachers are knowledgeable\u2019.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">I. INTRODUCTION<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The Fiji National University (FNU) was founded in 2010 by the merging of six academic institutions in the Fiji Islands, including the Fiji School of Medicine (FSM). FNU has continued the FSM\u2019s tradition of educating and training a diverse population of students from Fiji and neighbouring Pacific Island nations.\u00a0 <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme is a six-year course at FNU. As part of the academic year, each pre-clinical year group have a teaching week block course. During this time, students receive 2-4 hours of scheduled lectures, 2-hour tutorials twice weekly, as well as 2 hours of clinical skills and 2 hours of anatomy, 2 hours of laboratory sessions and a health centre attachment 4 hours a week. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">In 2018, FNU reduced the teaching week block course in the MBBS programme from 18 weeks to 14 weeks. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teaching weeks were shortened due to the decision to move specialty courses such as Psychiatry and Public Health to their respective clinical blocks from Years 4 to 6. This adaptation was challenging for the lecturers, who had to reformat their teaching sessions, in addition to providing resources onto an online Moodle platform. It is well established that the educational environment plays an important role in determining the academic success of medical students (Prosser et al., 1999; Ramsden 2003). Therefore, it is important to evaluate the impact of any major changes to the educational environment, such as a reduction in teaching weeks from 18 weeks to 14 weeks.<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Previous research has demonstrated that the duration of clinical rotations has been able to be decreased without adversely affecting the academic success of medical students. For example, one group demonstrated that a shortened four-week clinical rotation in Obstetrics and Gynaecology provided enough opportunity for final year medical students to undertake a quality improvement project in the curriculum (Kool et al., 2017).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) is a quantitative tool used to evaluate students\u2019 perceptions of the educational environment in medical schools. The DREEM tool consists of 50 items, each rated on a scale from 0 to 4. It has five domains, allowing for a maximum score of 200. Higher scores indicate a positive perception of the learning environment (Roff et al., 1997).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">A systematic review published in 2012 analysed 40 studies reporting DREEM scores from 20 countries. This review demonstrated that DREEM had been used internationally for various purposes, including diagnostic assessments and comparative studies across different groups (Miles et al., 2012). Five studies focused on investigating the impact of a changed curriculum, which was our area of interest (<\/span><span lang=\"EN-AU\">Demir\u00f6ren et al., 2008, <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Edgren et al., 2010, O\u2019Brien et al., 2008, Riquelme et al., 2009, Till et al., 2004<\/span><span lang=\"EN-AU\">)<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">. We identified three key themes: 1) the DREEM tool was able to highlight areas of concern and\/or remediation among students (Riquelme et al., 2009 Till et al., 2004), 2) DREEM scores were different in different phases of medical education, with year 3 students having the highest scores, and year 5 students having the lowest scores (<\/span><span lang=\"EN-AU\">Demir\u00f6ren et al., 2008, <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Riquelme et al., 2009<\/span><span lang=\"EN-AU\">)<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">, and 3) the DREEM tool identified clusters of students based on how positively they perceived the curriculum (O\u2019Brien et al., 2008).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The aim of this research was to compare students\u2019 perception of learning and teachers between 18 weeks and 14 weeks, using a modified DREEM (mDREEM) tool which utilises two of the five domains from the original DREEM tool. The authors\u2019 hypothesis was that students\u2019 perception of learning and teaching would be reduced in with a decrease in teaching weeks to 14 weeks compared to 18 weeks.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">II. METHODS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">A. Participants<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">An online survey was developed by the authors. This was distributed via email to eligible participants using Google Forms from 12<sup>th<\/sup> December to 17<sup>th<\/sup> December 2020. Eligible participants included the Year 5 MBBS cohort of 2021, as this cohort was exposed to both 18 week and 14 week teaching programmes. Participation in the survey was optional and results were anonymous. Submission of a completed survey was taken as providing informed consent to participate in this research. Full ethics approval was provided through FNU\u2019s College Human Health Ethics Committee (ID: 292.20). Facility approval was granted to conduct the research.<\/span><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><\/b><\/p>\r\n<p><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">B. mDREEM Tool<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The authors selected two of the five domains of the DREEM tool to be included in the survey. The selected two domains included students\u2019 perceptions of learning (SPL) and students\u2019 perceptions of teachers (SPT). The rationale for using only these two domains was that they were the two domains of interest for the teachers, and it was thought that a survey with less questions would be more likely to be filled to completion by more of the students. Using a Likert scale, each item was scored from 0 to 4, with 4 = strongly agree, 3 = agree, 2 = not sure, 1 = disagree and 0 = strongly disagree. Six of the 23 statements in the mDREEM tool were negative statements: 1) the teaching over-emphasised factual learning; 2) the teaching is too teacher-centred; 3) teachers ridicule the students; 4) the teachers are authoritarian; 5) teachers get angry in class and 6) the students irritate the teachers. These were scored in a reverse manner.<b> <\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The mDREEM tool had a maximum score of 92. The SPL domain included 12 items, with a maximum score of 48. The SPT domain included 11 items, with a maximum score of 44.<b> <\/b>This research used the following guide to interpret the overall scores: <b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0\u201323 = Very poor environment<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">24 \u2013 46 = A large number of problems in the environment<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">47\u201369 = More positive than negative environment<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">70\u201392 = Excellent<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">C. Statistical Analysis<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Analysis of the collected data was by using R version 4.3.1. Mean scores were reported with standard deviations. Paired t-tests were performed to compare aspects of the mDREEM scores over 18 weeks and 14 weeks, with a statistical significance threshold of p&lt;0.05. Reliability analysis of the mDREEM tool was assessed using Cronbach\u2019s Alpha test, where &gt;0.7 was deemed acceptable internal consistency.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">III. RESULTS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Seventy-eight out of eighty-one (96%) MBSS Year 5 students participated in the online survey. Fifty-one (65%) were females and 51% of participants were aged between 23 and 25 years old. Fijian of Indian descent students made up the majority of the responders (67%) followed by other ethnicities (18%) and i-Taueki students (15%). The majority of students resided at the FNU Hostel (69%) while 28% lived within Suva and only 3% lived outside Suva.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Table 1 illustrates the 23 individual mDREEM items with mean scores across 18 weeks and 14 weeks. The item \u2018the teaching overemphasised factual learning\u2019 scored the lowest for both 18 and 14 weeks. The item \u2018teachers are knowledgeable\u2019 scored the highest for both 18 and 14 weeks.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"649\" style=\"width: 86.8984%;\" class=\"aligncenter\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Items<\/span><\/b><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">mDREEM item<\/span><\/b><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Code<\/span><\/b><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"104\" colspan=\"2\" style=\"width: 16.2826%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">18 weeks<\/span><\/b><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"110\" colspan=\"2\" style=\"width: 62.8957%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><b><span lang=\"EN-GB\">14 weeks<\/span><\/b><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"435\" colspan=\"3\" style=\"width: 66.2058%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Mean<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SD<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Mean<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SD<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">I am encouraged to participate in class<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">3.13<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.91<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.78<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.03<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teaching is often stimulating<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.79<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.02<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.65<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.94<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">3<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teaching is student-centred<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.97<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.95<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.79<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.92<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">4<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teaching helps to develop my competence<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">3.06<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.82<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.63<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.92<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">5<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teaching is well focused<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.67<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.00<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.55<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.03<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">6<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teaching helps to develop my confidence<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.88<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.01<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.79<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.94<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">7<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teaching time is put to good use<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.81<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.12<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.60<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.00<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">8<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teaching over-emphasised factual learning<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.85<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.92<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.91<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.79<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">9<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">I am clear about the learning objectives of the course<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.77<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.02<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.78<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.98<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">10<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teaching encourages me to be an active learner<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.86<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.16<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.97<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.88<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">11<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Long term learning is emphasised over short term learning<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.59<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.13<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.56<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.98<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">12<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teaching is too teacher-centred<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.85<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.80<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.74<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.78<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">13<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teachers are knowledgeable<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPT<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">3.18<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.83<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">3.13<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.80<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">14<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teachers are patient<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPT<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">3.01<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.73<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.74<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.89<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">15<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teachers ridicule the students<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPT<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.49<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.97<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.56<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.97<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">16<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teachers are authoritarian<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPT<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.49<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.96<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.58<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.91<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">17<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teachers have good communication skills<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPT<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">3.04<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.90<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.99<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.71<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">18<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teachers are good at providing feedback to students<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPT<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.54<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.15<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.86<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.96<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">19<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teachers provide constructive criticisms<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPT<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.85<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.90<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.92<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.84<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">20<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teachers give clear examples during class<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPT<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.78<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.91<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.79<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.84<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">21<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teachers get angry in class<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPT<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.63<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">1.01<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.63<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.85<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">22<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The teachers are well prepared for their classes<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPT<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.87<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.90<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.92<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.81<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 6.67855%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">23<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"336\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 56.5217%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The students irritate the teachers<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 3.0056%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPT<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.23<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"47\" style=\"width: 7.37327%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.95<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"57\" style=\"width: 8.90937%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">2.23<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"53\" style=\"width: 53.9863%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">0.83<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<div>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Table 1. Descriptive statistics of individual item DREEM scores for 18 and 14 teaching weeks<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The mean SPL scores over 18 weeks and 14 weeks were 33.23 (SD 7.38) and 31.74 (SD 7.52), respectively, out of a maximum of 48 (SPL 18 weeks: 69.33%; SPL 14 weeks: 66.13%). The mean SPT scores over 18 weeks and 14 weeks were 30.06 (SD 6.34) and 30.28 (SD 5.74), respectively, out of a maximum of 44 (SPT 18 weeks: 68.32%; SPT 14 weeks: 68.82%). The mean mDREEM scores over 18 weeks and 14 weeks were 63.29 (SD 12.58) and 62.03 (SD 12.01), respectively, out of a maximum of 92 (mDREEM 18 weeks: 68.80%; mDREEM 14 weeks: 67.42%). These results are presented in Table 2.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"100%\" style=\"width: 100%;\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"7%\" style=\"width: 7%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"14%\" style=\"width: 14%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL 18<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"14%\" style=\"width: 14%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPL 14<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"14%\" style=\"width: 14%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPT 18<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"14%\" style=\"width: 14%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SPT 14<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"17%\" style=\"width: 17%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">mDREEM 18<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"17%\" style=\"width: 17%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">mDREEM 14<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"7%\" style=\"width: 7%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Mean<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"14%\" style=\"width: 14%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">33.23<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"14%\" style=\"width: 14%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">31.74<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"14%\" style=\"width: 14%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">30.06<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"14%\" style=\"width: 14%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">30.28<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"17%\" style=\"width: 17%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">63.29<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"17%\" style=\"width: 17%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">62.03<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td width=\"7%\" style=\"width: 7%;\">\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">SD<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"14%\" style=\"width: 14%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">7.38<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"14%\" style=\"width: 14%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">7.52<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"14%\" style=\"width: 14%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">6.34<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"14%\" style=\"width: 14%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">5.74<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"17%\" style=\"width: 17%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">12.58<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td width=\"17%\" style=\"width: 17%;\">\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">12.01<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Table 2. Descriptive summary statistics for 18 and 14 teaching weeks<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The mean difference in SPL scores between 18 weeks and 14 weeks was 1.48. This difference was not statistically significant (t (77) = 1.61, p = 0.11). The mean difference in SPT scores between 18 weeks and 14 weeks was -0.22, and this was also not statistically significant (t (77) = -0.43, p = 0.67). The mean difference in overall mDREEM scores between 18 weeks and 14 weeks was 1.27, which was also not statistically significant (t (77) = 1.04, p = 0.30).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The reliability analysis for both 18 and 14 teaching weeks found a Cronbach\u2019s Alpha Test of 0.58 for SPL, which was less than the threshold of 0.7 and 0.84 for SPT, which was greater than the threshold of 0.7. For mDREEM, the Cronbach\u2019s Alpha Test was 0.77, which was greater than the threshold of 0.7 and confirmed acceptable internal consistency for the mDREEM tool.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">IV. DISCUSSION<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">This study has demonstrated that a reduction in teaching from 18 to 14 weeks did not result in a significant decrease in mDREEM, SPL or SPT scores among Year 5 MBBS students at FNU in 2020. This finding refuted the authors\u2019 hypothesis of a reduction in teaching weeks leading to student dissatisfaction of the educational environment. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Both 18 weeks and 14 weeks scored within the range of 47 to 69 out of 92, indicating a \u2018more positive than negative environment\u2019 based on predefined thresholds outlined in the methods section. The \u2018excellent\u2019 threshold of 70+ out of 92 was not obtained, indicating room for improvement. In particular, the item \u2018teachers are knowledgeable\u2019 scored the highest for both 18 and 14 weeks indicating that students perceived their teachers to have high levels of knowledge despite the reduction in teaching weeks. In contrast, \u2018the teaching overemphasised factual learning\u2019 was identified as the most significant negative statement and provides an area of focus for the lecturers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">One group used the DREEM tool to assess curriculum changes in an Irish medical school and that found that the new curriculum was associated with students reporting higher mean DREEM scores (Finn et al., 2014). While FNU\u2019s curriculum change did not result in higher mDREEM scores, the maintenance of mDREEM scores is encouraging and provides a framework for ongoing work towards improving students\u2019 perception of their educational environment.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">This finding was similar to a previous study reviewing shortened medical education rotations previously discussed in the introduction section of this paper (Kool et al., 2017). Given the concordance with other similar research findings, <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">the authors are of the belief that the results from this study are largely generalisable to MBBS students and lecturers worldwide, despite only being a single-centre study.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">A major strength of this study was the high response rate of 96%. This ensures that data collected as part of this research is representative of the population of interest as compared to several studies with lower response rates (Al-Ansari et al., 2015; Ali et al., 2012; Hyde et al., 2018). Moreover, the results are comparable to the high response rates of other DREEM studies conducted internationally (Alraawi et al., 2020; Stormon et al., 2019; Till et al., 2004).<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">One limitation of this study was using only two domains of the DREEM tool, neglecting the three domains of Students\u2019 Academic Self-Perception (SAP), Students\u2019 Perception of Atmosphere (SPA) and Students\u2019 Social Self-Perception (SSP). The authors selected SPT and SPL as the two key domains for this research, and thought that by selecting the two most relevant domains, that this would shorten the questionnaire and improve completion of the questionnaire amongst participants. Future research at FNU should trial the use of all five domains of the DREEM tool to assess whether this provides further insights into how teaching weeks can be improved for MBBS students. It will be of interest to see whether response rates are reduced with the use of the full DREEM tool in a questionnaire. Furthermore, future surveys should investigate perspectives of MBBS students over a range of year groups, given previous research suggesting that Year 3 MBBS students have higher DREEM scores than Year 5 MBBS students. A second limitation of this study was that the alpha value for SPL failed to achieve the threshold of &gt;0.7, making it concerning that this domain was unable to achieve acceptable internal consistency. However, the authors note that SPT and mDREEM both achieved acceptable internal consistency. A final limitation of this study was the fully quantitative nature of the survey \u2013 the authors did not provide an option for students to add comments to this survey. Future surveys should provide an option for students to add comments, in order to provide more insights into the perspectives of MBBS students.<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">V. CONCLUSION<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">In conclusion,<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> the students rated FNU\u2019s MBBS programme educational environment positively. A reduction in teaching weeks from 18 to 14 did not result in a statistically significant decrease in SPL, SPT or mDREEM scores. This study identified valuable information for the authors regarding the improvement of educational environment for medical students. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Utilisation of these results to guide educational development in these areas needing improvement will be of help in shaping the delivery of quality education to medical students. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">In addition, this research may open a door for further studies to investigate challenges faced by tutors and link it to the perceptions of medical students in their educational environment. Likewise, this study is important for future studies in evaluating the educational climate for FNU and other local and international universities.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Notes on Contributors<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Dr Maria Bartolome is the corresponding author for this research. She is a PBL (problem based learning) lecturer at the School of Medicine, Fiji National University. She was involved in conceptualisation, methodology, investigation, formal analysis, and writing the original draft.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Dr Norman Bartolome <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">is a PBL lecturer at the School of Medicine,\u00a0 Fiji National University. He was involved in<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> conceptualisation, methodology, investigation, and writing the original draft.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Dr Alena Kotoiwasawa is a PBL lecturer at the School of Medicine,\u00a0 Fiji National University, and was involved in\u00a0 conceptualisation, methodology, and investigation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Dr Rachael Masilomani is a former PBL lecturer <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">at the School of Medicine,\u00a0 Fiji National University<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">. She was involved in conceptualisation, methodology, investigation, and formal analysis.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Dr Lusiana Naikawakawavesi is a PBL lecturer at the School of Medicine,\u00a0 Fiji National University, and was involved in conceptualisation, methodology, and investigation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Dr Maria Villareul is a PBL lecturer at the School of Medicine, Fiji National University. She was involved in conceptualisation, methodology, and investigation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Dr Sophaganie Jepson is a PBL lecturer at Fiji National University. She was involved in conceptualisation, methodology, investigation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Dr Aying Wang is a former PBL Lecturer at Fiji National University. He was involved in conceptualisation, methodology, investigation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Dr Claudia Paterson is a research fellow at The University of Auckland, New Zealand. She was involved in formal analysis, reviewing and editing.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Professor Andrew Hill is a colorectal surgeon and Professor of Surgery at Middlemore Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. He was involved in supervision, <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">reviewing and editing<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">.<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Ethical Approval<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Ethical approval was provided through FNU\u2019s College Human Health Ethics Committee (CHHREC) \u2013 reference ID: 292.20.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Data Availability<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The corresponding author is able to provide researchers access to our anonymised dataset, on reasonable request.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Acknowledgements<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The authors acknowledge the efforts of the students in participating in this study.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Funding<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">No funding was used for this study.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Declaration of Interest<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The authors do not have any conflicts of interest to disclose.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><span lang=\"EN-GB\">References<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Al-Ansari, A. A., &amp; El Tantawi, M. M. A. (2015). Predicting academic performance of dental students using perception of educational environment. <i>Journal of Dental Education<\/i>, <i>79<\/i>(3), 337\u2013344. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/j.00220337.2015.79.3.tb05889.x\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/j.00220337.2015.79.3.tb05889.x<\/span><\/a><\/span><span lang=\"EN-NZ\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Ali, K., Raja, M., Watson, G., Coombes, L., &amp; Heffernan, E. (2012). The dental school learning milieu: Students\u2019 perceptions at five academic dental institutions in Pakistan. <i>Journal of Dental Education<\/i>, <i>76<\/i>(4), 487\u2013494. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/j.0022-0337.2012.76.4.tb05281.x\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/j.0022-0337.2012.76.4.tb05281.x<\/span><\/a><\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-NZ\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Alraawi, M. O., Baris, S. A., Ahmari, N. A., Alshadidi, A. B., Abidi, N. A., &amp; Al Moaleem, M. (2020). Analyzing students&#8217; perceptions of educational environment in new dental colleges, Turkey using DREEM Inventory. <i>Bioscience Biotechnology Research Communications<\/i>, <i>13<\/i>(2), 556\u2013564. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><a href=\"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.21786\/bbrc\/13.2\/29\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.21786\/bbrc\/13.2\/29<\/span><\/a><\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-NZ\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Demir\u00f6ren, M., Palao\u011flu, \u00d6., Kemahl\u0131, S., \u00d6zyurda, F., &amp; Ayhan, \u0130. H. (2008). Perceptions of students in different phases of medical education of educational environment: Ankara University Faculty of Medicine. <i>Medical Education Online<\/i>, <i>13<\/i>, Article 8. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3885\/meo.2008.Res00267\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3885\/meo.2008.Res00267<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Edgren, G., Haffling, A. C., Jakobsson, U., McAleer, S., &amp; Danielsen, N. (2010). Comparing the educational environment (as measured by DREEM) at two different stages of curriculum reform. <i>Medical Teacher<\/i>, <i>32<\/i>(6), e233\u2013e238. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3109\/01421591003706282\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3109\/01421591003706282<\/span><\/a><\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-NZ\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Finn, Y., Avalos, G., &amp; Dunne, F. (2014). Positive changes in the medical educational environment following introduction of a new systems-based curriculum: DREEM or reality? <i>Irish Journal of Medical Science<\/i>, <i>183<\/i>(2), 253\u2013258. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s11845-013-1000-4\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s11845-013-1000-4<\/span><\/a><\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-NZ\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Hyde, S., Hannigan, A., Dornan, T., &amp; McGrath, D. (2018). Medical school clinical placements &#8211; The optimal method for assessing the clinical educational environment from a graduate entry perspective. <i>BMC Medical Education<\/i>, <i>18<\/i>, Article 7. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s12909-017-1113-y\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s12909-017-1113-y<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Kool, B., Wise, M. R., Peiris-John, R., Sadler, L., Mahony, F., &amp; Wells, S. (2017). Is the delivery of a quality improvement education programme in obstetrics and gynaecology for final year medical students feasible and still effective in a shortened time frame? <i>BMC Medical Education<\/i>, <i>17<\/i>, Article 91. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s12909-017-0927-y\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s12909-017-0927-y<\/span><\/a><\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"> <\/span><span lang=\"EN-NZ\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Miles, S., Swift, L., &amp; Leinster, S. J. (2012). The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM): A review of its adoption and use. <i>Medical Teacher<\/i>, <i>34<\/i>(9), e620\u2013e634. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3109\/0142159X.2012.668625\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3109\/0142159X.2012.668625<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">O\u2019Brien, A. P., Chan, T. M. F., &amp; Cho, M. A. A. (2008). Investigating nursing students\u2019 perceptions of the changes in a nursing curriculum by means of the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) Inventory: Results of a cluster analysis. <i>International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship<\/i>, <i>5<\/i>(1), Article 25. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2202\/1548-923X.1503\" target=\"_new\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2202\/1548-923X.1503<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Prosser, M., &amp; Trigwell, K. (1999). <i>Understanding learning and teaching: The experience in higher education<\/i>. McGraw-Hill Education.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Ramsden, P. (2003). <i>Learning to teach in higher education<\/i> (2nd ed.). Routledge.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Riquelme, A., Oporto, M., Oporto, J., M\u00e9ndez, J. I., Viviani, P., Salech, F., Chianale, J., Moreno, R., &amp; S\u00e1nchez, I. (2009). Measuring students\u2019 perceptions of the educational climate of the new curriculum at the Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Chile: Performance of the Spanish translation of the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM). <i>Education for Health<\/i>, <i>22<\/i>(1), Article 112.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Roff, S., McAleer, S., Harden, R. M., Al-Qahtani, M., Ahmed, A. U., Deza, H., Groenen, G., &amp; Primparyon, P. (1997). Development and validation of the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM). <i>Medical Teacher<\/i>, <i>19<\/i>(4), 295\u2013299.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Stormon, N., Ford, P. J., &amp; Eley, D. S. (2019). DREEM-ing of dentistry: Students\u2019 perception of the academic learning environment in Australia. <i>European Journal of Dental Education<\/i>, <i>23<\/i>(1), 35\u201341. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/eje.12384\" target=\"_new\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/eje.12384<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Till, H. (2004). Identifying the perceived weaknesses of a new curriculum by means of the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) Inventory. <i>Medical Teacher<\/i>, <i>26<\/i>(1), 39\u201345. <\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/01421590310001642948\" target=\"_new\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/01421590310001642948<\/span><\/a><\/span><span lang=\"EN-NZ\"><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>*<span lang=\"EN-GB\">Dr Maria Concepcion Bartolome<\/span><br \/>\r\n<span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Basic Clinical Medicine Department<\/span><br \/>\r\n<span lang=\"EN-NZ\">School of Medical Sciences (SMS)<\/span><br \/>\r\n<span lang=\"EN-NZ\">College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (CMNHS),<\/span><br \/>\r\n<span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Fiji National University<\/span><br \/>\r\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\"><span lang=\"EN-NZ\">Hoodless House, Brown St. Suva, Fiji Islands<\/span><\/span><br \/>\r\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\">+679 3311700<\/span><br \/>\r\n<span lang=\"EN-GB\">Email: maria.bartolome@fnu.ac.fj<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":8,"template":"","issues_category":[12],"archive_category":[],"issue_type":[25],"volume_category":[61894],"class_list":["post-72809","issues","type-issues","status-publish","hentry","issues_category-original-articles","issue_type-past-issue","volume_category-volume-10-number-2-april-2025"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Students\u2019 perception of a reduction in teaching weeks in a medical programme in Fiji - The Asia Pacific Scholar<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Students\u2019 perception of a reduction in teaching weeks in a medical programme in Fiji - The Asia Pacific Scholar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Submitted: 17 April 2024 Accepted: 18 December 2025 Published online: 1 April, TAPS 2025, 10(2), 65-70 https:\/\/doi.org\/10.29060\/TAPS.2025-10-2\/OA3336 Rachael Tufui Masilomani1, Sophaganie Jepsen1, Maria Lourdes Villaruel1, Aying Wang1, Alena Kotoiwasawasa1, Lusiana Naikawakawavesi1, Norman Bartolome1, Claudia Paterson2, Andrew Hill2 &amp; Maria Concepcion Bartolome1 1Basic Clinical Medicine, Fiji National University, Fiji; 2Department of Surgery, Middlemore Hospital, University of [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Asia Pacific Scholar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-01T00:55:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"17 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/\",\"name\":\"Students\u2019 perception of a reduction in teaching weeks in a medical programme in Fiji - The Asia Pacific Scholar\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-18T01:45:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-01T00:55:51+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Students\u2019 perception of a reduction in teaching weeks in a medical programme in Fiji\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/\",\"name\":\"The Asia Pacific Scholar\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Students\u2019 perception of a reduction in teaching weeks in a medical programme in Fiji - The Asia Pacific Scholar","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Students\u2019 perception of a reduction in teaching weeks in a medical programme in Fiji - The Asia Pacific Scholar","og_description":"Submitted: 17 April 2024 Accepted: 18 December 2025 Published online: 1 April, TAPS 2025, 10(2), 65-70 https:\/\/doi.org\/10.29060\/TAPS.2025-10-2\/OA3336 Rachael Tufui Masilomani1, Sophaganie Jepsen1, Maria Lourdes Villaruel1, Aying Wang1, Alena Kotoiwasawasa1, Lusiana Naikawakawavesi1, Norman Bartolome1, Claudia Paterson2, Andrew Hill2 &amp; Maria Concepcion Bartolome1 1Basic Clinical Medicine, Fiji National University, Fiji; 2Department of Surgery, Middlemore Hospital, University of [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/","og_site_name":"The Asia Pacific Scholar","article_modified_time":"2025-07-01T00:55:51+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"17 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/","url":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/","name":"Students\u2019 perception of a reduction in teaching weeks in a medical programme in Fiji - The Asia Pacific Scholar","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-03-18T01:45:40+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-01T00:55:51+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/issues\/students-perception-of-a-reduction-in-teaching-weeks-in-a-medical-programme-in-fiji\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Students\u2019 perception of a reduction in teaching weeks in a medical programme in Fiji"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/#website","url":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/","name":"The Asia Pacific Scholar","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issues\/72809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issues"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/issues"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issues_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issues_category?post=72809"},{"taxonomy":"archive_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archive_category?post=72809"},{"taxonomy":"issue_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_type?post=72809"},{"taxonomy":"volume_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicine.nus.edu.sg\/taps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/volume_category?post=72809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}