A PREDICTIVE MODEL OF STUDENT SATISFACTION WITH THE MEDICAL-SCHOOL LEARNING-ENVIRONMENT

Purpose. To examine differences in attitudes toward the medical school learning environment among student subgroups based on gender and race -ethnicity, to identify the most influential predictors of student sat isfaction with the learning environment, and to create a model of stud ent satisfaction with the learning environment. Method. Three years of survey data (1992-93 to 1994-95) from first-year students at the Univ ersity of Michigan Medical School were combined. The total sample cons isted of 430 respondents, broken into two sets of subgroups: women (n = 171) and men (n = 259), and whites (n = 239) and underrepresented mi norities (n = 74). Asian students were removed from analyses when comp arisons were made by race-ethnicity, but were included in the analyses for all students and those comparing men and women. Student's t-tests were used to identify differences between gender and racial-ethnic gr oups in mean responses to seven survey items, and effect sizes were us ed to characterize the magnitudes and practical significances of the d ifferences. Forward stepwise regression was conducted to determine the best predictive models for each student subgroup and for the total sa mple; the subgroup models were compared with each other as well as wit h the total-sample model. Results. Cross-validation of the gender and race-ethnicity models showed that the men's satisfaction and the women 's satisfaction were predicted equally well using either subgroup's mo del, and that the white students' satisfaction and the underrepresente d-minority students' satisfaction were predicted equally well using ei ther subgroup's model. Furthermore, the total-sample model, employing a subset of five predictors, was similar in its predictive power to th e subgroup models. Conclusion. The study's findings suggest that curri culum structure (timely feedback and the promotion of critical thinkin g) and students' perceptions of the priority faculty place on students ' education are prominent predictors of student satisfaction (across a ll subgroups) with the learning environment. In contrast, students' pe rceptions of the learning environment as a comfortable place for all g ender and racial-ethnic groups, although less prominent predictors of satisfaction, will discriminate among the subgroups.