Satisfaction with teaching and learning and the role of psychological need fulfillment

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a model to assess participant satisfaction of a teaching and learning experience. Additionally, the way innate psychological needs influence the satisfaction formation process will be examined. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional, quantitative approach was chosen and path analysis and t-tests were used to analyze the data. Findings – Satisfaction is formed by two related constructs, emotions and perception of quality, and together explained 53 percent of the variance in satisfaction. Higher levels of psychological need fulfillment were shown to positively influence emotions and quality perceptions and indirectly influence satisfaction judgements. Practical implications – These findings have relevance for education and training providers. First, they provide a comprehensive way for educationists to manage and measure satisfaction. Originality/value – Many teaching and learning evaluations are based on quality judgement and single measure of satisfaction. This study shows the important role positive and negative emotions play in determining satisfaction judgements. Additionally, and for the first time, the influence of different levels of psychological need fulfillment on satisfaction has been reported.