ABSTRACT

A growing literature addresses the experiences of international students in higher education. However, limited attention has been paid to how satisfied international students are with their educational experience (gown) and their non-educational experiences related to, e.g. culture, transportation, administrative matters and housing (town). This paper presents findings from a study on 392 international students that have spent a period in one of the higher education institutions located in the city of Ghent, Belgium. We explore which socio-demographic variables and students’ motivations predict their overall satisfaction and satisfaction regarding specific dimensions: housing, culture/lifestyle, education and administration. The findings illustrate that financial security and academic motivation positively predict general satisfaction as well as all or most of the four specific dimensions of satisfaction. Socio-demographic variables hardly play a role, apart from religion and the difference between the home and host country’s level of educational development.

摘要

越来越多的文献谈到国际学生在高等教育中的经历。但是，对于国际学生对他们的教育经验（礼服）和他们的非教育经验（例如文化，交通，行政事务和住房（城镇））的满意度如何，关注度却很少。本文介绍了对392名国际学生的研究结果，这些学生在比利时根特市的其中一所高等教育机构中度过了一段时间。我们探讨了哪些社会人口统计学变量和学生的动机可以预测他们的总体满意度和在以下方面的满意度：住房，文化/生活方式，教育和行政管理。研究结果表明，财务安全和学术动机可以积极预测总体满意度以及满意度的四个具体维度的全部或大部分。除了宗教信仰以及母国和东道国教育发展水平之间的差异外，社会人口统计学变量几乎没有作用。