Study satisfaction
Study satisfaction is the "general satisfaction with your studies". General study satisfaction is determined by the satisfaction with individual aspects of the study. It is measured in student surveys, so information about study quality characteristics is obtained. It is an evaluation of student satisfaction with their studies for the purpose of improving teaching. A teaching evaluation can be part of a study satisfaction survey . Study satisfaction is not used in the accreditation of study programs within the framework of the Bologna process .
Theoretical background
One current theory is based on Talcott Parson's AGIL scheme . Accordingly, the central categories for explaining student satisfaction or dissatisfaction are:
- Student skills and needs,
- the requirements and offers of the university,
- Goals and anticipated fulfillment states,
- as well as value orientations of the students (provided they correspond to those of the university environment).
Other approaches see study satisfaction more according to the congruence model of John L. Holland (interactionist approach), according to which study satisfaction arises as a result of suitable personal attitudes (personological approach) and environmental conditions (situationist approach).
In US university research, it is viewed as an essential indicator of "institutional effectiveness" (Franklin 1996: 1043). Some universities there give "student satisfaction guarantees" in order to have a competitive advantage in the acquisition of students.
A first empirical review of the AGIL scheme for measuring student satisfaction was carried out in 2006 by Cornelia Damrath in a study at the University of Mainz . It was found that study satisfaction is most closely related to the "value of the degree itself". This means that the students who were particularly interested in a degree were particularly satisfied. A review of these results was sought in a replication study from 2015. In contrast to the original study, a representative data set with over 7,000 respondents at the University of Freiburg could be used. As the analytical instruments were largely identical, a high degree of comparability of the results can be assumed. However, it could be shown here that neither the “value of the degree itself” nor the general performance of the students are effective predictors of degree satisfaction. On the other hand, the “teacher-student relationship” seems to be the most important predictor of student satisfaction. Faculty support is obviously the single most important factor influencing student satisfaction. However, other key findings from the original study could not be replicated.
At German universities, v. a. Study satisfaction measurements are carried out at so-called “ elite universities ” in order to analyze the quality of teaching and study from a student perspective.
Measurement of study satisfaction
Analogous to the measurement of customer or employee satisfaction , study satisfaction can be assessed using empirical social research . In practice, student surveys are usually carried out using questionnaires . In most cases, partial aspects of study satisfaction are asked about their importance for the respective student and satisfaction with the implementation of this aspect at the university.
The following partial aspects of satisfaction are often mentioned: Satisfaction with
- the course content
- the study conditions and
- of study loads.
literature
- Cornelia Damrath: Study Satisfaction - Models and Empirical Findings . In: Transitions in the Education System . 1st edition. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 3-531-14865-6 , p. 227-293 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-531-90158-9_4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cornelia Damrath: Student satisfaction - models and empirical findings . In: Transitions in the Education System . 1st edition. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 3-531-14865-6 , p. 227-293 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-531-90158-9_4 .
- ^ Felix Bittmann: Student satisfaction . Empirical study of predictors of study satisfaction using the AGIL scheme according to Talcott Parsons. Freiburg 2015 ( felix-bittmann.de ).
- ↑ Elke Heise, Rainer Westermann, Kordelia Spies, Angelina Schiffler: Study interest and professional orientations as determinants of study satisfaction. In: Journal of Educational Psychology. 11, No. 2, 1997, pp. 123-132.