Abstract
As education is an important sector in every national economy, it is arguable that higher education is a key area of interest of both public and private institutions. With globalization, the higher education sector is internationalized through the mobility of the institutions and students alike. International students are increasingly moving to other countries in pursuit of education and other interests such as career opportunities, cultural and social experiences, and even migration. The present study investigates international students’ motives in studying abroad and the impacts of these different motives on their evaluation of service quality of the institutions where they study. This study attempts to incorporate the motives of their study with the well recognized service quality model, namely SERVQUAL. This study was empirically conducted in a private higher education institution in Singapore, gathering data from 263 international students who are studying in the business programmes. The survey method was used to gather the required data about the motives, expectations and perceptions as well as the level of satisfaction with the education service provided by the institution under study. The study found that the students held four kinds of motives: academic & education, career & migration, pleasure & experience and work. The study suggests that educational marketers should consider the role and influence of the motives in evaluating service quality by international students and to develop their education programmes accordingly so that their level of service quality will be enhanced from the perspective of international students.
Highlights
The education sector is an important contributor to every national economy, as a substantial amount of public spending is invested in this sector which generates a large number of employment
As education is an important sector in every national economy, it is arguable that higher education is a key area of interest of both public and private institutions
This study aims to investigate the role of the motives of studying abroad in international students’ judgment of the service quality of private higher education institutions
Summary
The education sector is an important contributor to every national economy, as a substantial amount of public spending is invested in this sector which generates a large number of employment. Within this sector, special attention needs to be paid to private higher education in which most of mobile (international) students are studying. Special attention needs to be paid to private higher education in which most of mobile (international) students are studying This is because of the large sums of money spent by a growing number of people in this activity. The sheer number as well as the growth rate of students in tertiary education indicate the increasing importance of the higher education sector and the need for systematic approach to achieve the goals of the participants in the industry (Gupta, 2005; Hammond, Webster & Harmon, 2006; Rindfresh, 2003)
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