Validation of the Spanish translation of Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure

Abstract

Introduction: As the educational environment is a vital aspect to obtain quality results in medical schools, so it is important to have a reliable instrument that evaluates students’ perception of the factors which make them up. Among the instruments that exist, the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) is the most widely used internationally for this purpose.

Objective: To validate the DREEM scale after translation from English to Mexican - Spanish.

Method: To validate the translation that considered translation, retro-translation and 3 focused groups, it was used a qualitative methodology. To validate the internal consistency, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and a corrected total- item subscale correlations were used as expressed by a sample of 110 medical students.

Results: There was a total positive coincidence of the review translators in 40 of the 50 items on the literal translation and first adequacy. Ten items, where there was no agreement were rewritten according to the reconciliation of the translator’s suggestions. Eight items were substituted and adapted to be understood by the students, trying not to modify the semantic field. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient calculated for the subscales internal consistency validation, resulted in the student’s perception of learning and teachers >0.8, the academic and atmosphere >0.7 and social self-perceptions <0.6, so they are considered good, acceptable and poor respectively. Cronbach’s alpha of the global DREEM was calculated at 0.93 and it was excellent.

Conclusions: As the DREEM scale did not lose its reliability with the translation, or with the substitutions of terms and adaptations of the original designed in English language, it can be applied to students study for a Medical Degree in Mexico to investigate the perception that they have on the educational environment.