Assessing the learning environment of a faculty: Psychometric validation of the German version of the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure with students and teachers

Aims: The teachers’ perspectives of the educational environment have as yet only been sparsely considered. This study aimed at validating the first German version of the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) from the points of view of both students and teachers.Methods: Data from 1119 students and 258 teachers were available for analysis. Psychometric validation included the analysis of homogeneity and discrimination at item level as well as reliability (Cronbach's α), criterion and construct validity at test level. Effect sizes were calculated and the independent samples t-test was used for statistical inference testing of mean differences between two groups.Results: Item characteristics were satisfactory in both samples. Reliability was high with α = 0.92 (students) and 0.94 (teachers), respectively. Factor analyses revealed five dimensions which slightly diverged from the five subscales postulated by the DREEM authors though. The environment was evaluated significantly (p < 0.001) more pos...