The educational environment is an important determinant of students’ learning experiences, engagement, satisfaction, and professional development, particularly during major curriculum reform. The Defence Services Medical Academy (DSMA), Myanmar, has implemented Outcome-Based Medical Education (OBME) to promote competency-oriented, student-centred learning and closer alignment between educational outcomes, teaching, and assessment. Continued evaluation among successive student cohorts is necessary to determine how the curriculum is experienced in practice. This study evaluated the educational environment and experiences of 25th Intake internship students undertaking the OBME programme at DSMA. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were obtained from 34 internship students using the 50-item Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) and analysed using descriptive statistics. The qualitative component used in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to explore students’ experiences, challenges, expectations, faculty support, and peer interaction; qualitative data were analysed thematically using MAXQDA. The overall mean DREEM score was 130/200, indicating an educational environment perceived as more positive than negative. Domain scores were 31.2 ± 6.5 for Students’ Perceptions of Learning, 28.7 ± 5.8 for Students’ Perceptions of Teachers, 24.5 ± 4.7 for Students’ Academic Self-Perception, 27.3 ± 5.2 for Students’ Perceptions of Atmosphere, and 18.3 ± 4.0 for Students’ Social Self-Perception. Five qualitative themes were identified: adaptation to OBME, faculty support, peer interaction, expectations versus experience, and positive aspects of the learning environment. Students valued collaborative learning, educational resources, faculty guidance, and greater responsibility for their learning. However, challenges were identified in self-directed learning, assessment, workload, consistency of faculty accessibility, and social interaction. The findings indicate that the educational environment for 25th Intake interns was generally positive, while highlighting specific opportunities for curriculum improvement. Strengthened orientation, faculty development, clearer assessment communication, structured peer support, and regular cohort-based evaluation are recommended to support continued development of OBME at DSMA.
| Published in | Higher Education Research (Volume 11, Issue 5) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.her.20261105.14 |
| Page(s) | 164-174 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
DREEM, Educational Environment, Outcome-Based Medical Education, Medical Education, Mixed-Methods Study, Student Perception, Curriculum Evaluation, Myanmar
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APA Style
Aung, Y. P., Naing, T. T., Hein, T., Phyo, Z., Ya, S. T., et al. (2026). Educational Environment in Outcome-Based Medical Education: A Mixed-Methods Study of 25th Intake Interns at the Defence Services Medical Academy, Myanmar. Higher Education Research, 11(5), 164-174. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20261105.14
ACS Style
Aung, Y. P.; Naing, T. T.; Hein, T.; Phyo, Z.; Ya, S. T., et al. Educational Environment in Outcome-Based Medical Education: A Mixed-Methods Study of 25th Intake Interns at the Defence Services Medical Academy, Myanmar. High. Educ. Res. 2026, 11(5), 164-174. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20261105.14
AMA Style
Aung YP, Naing TT, Hein T, Phyo Z, Ya ST, et al. Educational Environment in Outcome-Based Medical Education: A Mixed-Methods Study of 25th Intake Interns at the Defence Services Medical Academy, Myanmar. High Educ Res. 2026;11(5):164-174. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20261105.14
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Download@article{10.11648/j.her.20261105.14,
author = {Ye Phyo Aung and Tun Tun Naing and Tayzar Hein and Zaw Phyo and Soe Thu Ya and Pyi Hein Kyaw and Tin Tun},
title = {Educational Environment in Outcome-Based Medical Education: A Mixed-Methods Study of 25th Intake Interns at the Defence Services Medical Academy, Myanmar},
journal = {Higher Education Research},
volume = {11},
number = {5},
pages = {164-174},
doi = {10.11648/j.her.20261105.14},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20261105.14},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.her.20261105.14},
abstract = {The educational environment is an important determinant of students’ learning experiences, engagement, satisfaction, and professional development, particularly during major curriculum reform. The Defence Services Medical Academy (DSMA), Myanmar, has implemented Outcome-Based Medical Education (OBME) to promote competency-oriented, student-centred learning and closer alignment between educational outcomes, teaching, and assessment. Continued evaluation among successive student cohorts is necessary to determine how the curriculum is experienced in practice. This study evaluated the educational environment and experiences of 25th Intake internship students undertaking the OBME programme at DSMA. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were obtained from 34 internship students using the 50-item Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) and analysed using descriptive statistics. The qualitative component used in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to explore students’ experiences, challenges, expectations, faculty support, and peer interaction; qualitative data were analysed thematically using MAXQDA. The overall mean DREEM score was 130/200, indicating an educational environment perceived as more positive than negative. Domain scores were 31.2 ± 6.5 for Students’ Perceptions of Learning, 28.7 ± 5.8 for Students’ Perceptions of Teachers, 24.5 ± 4.7 for Students’ Academic Self-Perception, 27.3 ± 5.2 for Students’ Perceptions of Atmosphere, and 18.3 ± 4.0 for Students’ Social Self-Perception. Five qualitative themes were identified: adaptation to OBME, faculty support, peer interaction, expectations versus experience, and positive aspects of the learning environment. Students valued collaborative learning, educational resources, faculty guidance, and greater responsibility for their learning. However, challenges were identified in self-directed learning, assessment, workload, consistency of faculty accessibility, and social interaction. The findings indicate that the educational environment for 25th Intake interns was generally positive, while highlighting specific opportunities for curriculum improvement. Strengthened orientation, faculty development, clearer assessment communication, structured peer support, and regular cohort-based evaluation are recommended to support continued development of OBME at DSMA.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Educational Environment in Outcome-Based Medical Education: A Mixed-Methods Study of 25th Intake Interns at the Defence Services Medical Academy, Myanmar AU - Ye Phyo Aung AU - Tun Tun Naing AU - Tayzar Hein AU - Zaw Phyo AU - Soe Thu Ya AU - Pyi Hein Kyaw AU - Tin Tun Y1 - 2026/09/20 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20261105.14 DO - 10.11648/j.her.20261105.14 T2 - Higher Education Research JF - Higher Education Research JO - Higher Education Research SP - 164 EP - 174 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2578-935X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20261105.14 AB - The educational environment is an important determinant of students’ learning experiences, engagement, satisfaction, and professional development, particularly during major curriculum reform. The Defence Services Medical Academy (DSMA), Myanmar, has implemented Outcome-Based Medical Education (OBME) to promote competency-oriented, student-centred learning and closer alignment between educational outcomes, teaching, and assessment. Continued evaluation among successive student cohorts is necessary to determine how the curriculum is experienced in practice. This study evaluated the educational environment and experiences of 25th Intake internship students undertaking the OBME programme at DSMA. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were obtained from 34 internship students using the 50-item Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) and analysed using descriptive statistics. The qualitative component used in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to explore students’ experiences, challenges, expectations, faculty support, and peer interaction; qualitative data were analysed thematically using MAXQDA. The overall mean DREEM score was 130/200, indicating an educational environment perceived as more positive than negative. Domain scores were 31.2 ± 6.5 for Students’ Perceptions of Learning, 28.7 ± 5.8 for Students’ Perceptions of Teachers, 24.5 ± 4.7 for Students’ Academic Self-Perception, 27.3 ± 5.2 for Students’ Perceptions of Atmosphere, and 18.3 ± 4.0 for Students’ Social Self-Perception. Five qualitative themes were identified: adaptation to OBME, faculty support, peer interaction, expectations versus experience, and positive aspects of the learning environment. Students valued collaborative learning, educational resources, faculty guidance, and greater responsibility for their learning. However, challenges were identified in self-directed learning, assessment, workload, consistency of faculty accessibility, and social interaction. The findings indicate that the educational environment for 25th Intake interns was generally positive, while highlighting specific opportunities for curriculum improvement. Strengthened orientation, faculty development, clearer assessment communication, structured peer support, and regular cohort-based evaluation are recommended to support continued development of OBME at DSMA. VL - 11 IS - 5 ER -
Department of Medical Education, Defence Services Medical Academy, Yangon, Myanmar
Department of Medical Education, Defence Services Medical Academy, Yangon, Myanmar
Department of Medical Education, Defence Services Medical Academy, Yangon, Myanmar
Department of Medical Education, Defence Services Medical Academy, Yangon, Myanmar
Department of Medical Education, Defence Services Medical Academy, Yangon, Myanmar
Department of Medical Education, Defence Services Medical Academy, Yangon, Myanmar
Department of Biochemistry, Manipal University College Malaysia, Melaka, Myanmar
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