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Unveiling the International Students’ Perspective of Service Quality in Chinese Higher Education Institutions

Author

Listed:
  • Fakhra Yasmin

    (School of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China)

  • Shengbing Li

    (School of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
    Center of Crossborder Education, School of International Business, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China)

  • Yan Zhang

    (School of Educational Science, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China)

  • Petra Poulova

    (Department of Informatics and Quantitative Methods, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, 500 03 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic)

  • Ahsan Akbar

    (Department of Informatics and Quantitative Methods, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, 500 03 Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic)

Abstract

Foreign students’ satisfaction with the service quality of Chinese universities is essential for the sustainable internationalization of China’s higher education system. The present study employs a survey research method to bring in the foreign students’ perspective of the various aspects of service quality in seven key Chinese universities. Accordingly, 618 valid questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics, principal component analysis (PCA), and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The study findings posit that, although foreign students affirm that teachers are supportive and well qualified, they have concerns about the English proficiency of instructors. Likewise, foreign students were not satisfied with the frequency of formal research meetings with their advisers and the assistance with research techniques and relevant literature sources. Overall, female foreign students were less satisfied than their male counterparts. Moreover, foreign students reported higher satisfaction from teaching services and learning resources, moderate satisfaction from advisory services, and meager satisfaction from the administrative and support services of their respective Chinese institutions. Besides, we found significant differences between sample Chinese universities on various constructs of service quality. Likewise, arts and social sciences students were less satisfied with the service quality of the institution as compared to their natural sciences and engineering counterparts. The policy implications of this research for various stakeholders are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Fakhra Yasmin & Shengbing Li & Yan Zhang & Petra Poulova & Ahsan Akbar, 2021. "Unveiling the International Students’ Perspective of Service Quality in Chinese Higher Education Institutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-23, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:11:p:6008-:d:562832
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Bao, Tiantian & Liu, Yifan & Yang, Zhongzhen & Wu, Shanhua & Yan, Zhenli, 2024. "Evaluating sustainable service quality in higher education from a multi-stakeholder perspective: An integrated fuzzy group decision-making method," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    2. Jiani Ma & Chengmengxue Sun & Yuan Wang, 2022. "The Mediating Role of Learning Engagement on Learning Gains of International Students in Chinese Higher Education Institutions—Based on a Multi-Cohort Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Ekrem Toklucu & Fatoş Silman & Selahattin Turan & Ramazan Atasoy & Ümit Kalkan, 2022. "The Effects of the Crisis Management Skills and Distance Education Practices of Universities on Student Satisfaction and Organizational Image," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-23, May.
    4. Yifan Liu & Tiantian Bao & Dan Zhao & Huiyun Sang & Benwei Fu, 2022. "Evaluation of Student-Perceived Service Quality in Higher Education for Sustainable Development: A Fuzzy TODIM-ERA Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-21, April.
    5. Yunbo Wang & Xiuping Duan & Ziyi Chen, 2022. "Pathways to the Sustainable Development of Quality Education for International Students in China: An fsQCA Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-20, November.

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