College Satisfaction, Sense of Achievement, Student Happiness and Sense of Belonging of Freshmen in Chinese Private Colleges: Mediation Effect of Emotion Regulation.

Jing Tian,Jianfen Wu,Haitao Zhou,Mohan Zhang

doi:10.3390/ijerph182211736

Abstract

Sense of belonging constitutes a critical component of college students’ retention and academic achievement, especially in disadvantaged higher education institutions such as private colleges in China. Using nationwide survey data (n = 3816) from Chinese private colleges, this study explores how college satisfaction, sense of achievement, and student happiness contribute to freshmen’ sense of belonging. Structural equation modeling analyses have identified the significant positive associations between freshmen’s emotion regulation and sense of belonging. In particular, emotion regulation plays a mediating role in the relations between college satisfaction, sense of achievement, student happiness, and the sense of belonging. Therefore, private colleges should design and implement orientation programs to improve freshmen’s learning experience, especially college satisfaction and student happiness, to enhance their sense of belonging.

Highlights

Private higher education has expanded dramatically worldwide in the last two decades, and China is no exception
This study suggests that students with a greater sense of satisfaction with college may have a greater sense of belonging [54], consistent with other higher education findings conducted in Western countries
This study provides a quantitative insight into the issues of freshmen’ sense of belonging at Chinese private colleges

Summary

Introduction

Private higher education has expanded dramatically worldwide in the last two decades, and China is no exception. Since 2008, the proportion of private colleges in. China remained at 28–29% in the higher education sector, and 17.69% of the freshmen in 2019 were enrolled in private colleges [1]. The number of private colleges and their enrolments is rising, with the new student enrollment increase of 7.56%, and the total enrollment of students increase of 11.64% in 2020 [2]. Chinese private colleges have contributed significantly to the development of higher education. The rapid expansion of private colleges has caused public concerns and debates about the quality of higher education in. A country predominantly favoring public universities for decades.

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Conclusion