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A Dual Satisfaction Research On Undergraduate Student Learning Satisfaction And Employer Satisfaction In Brunei Darussalam

Posted on:2019-02-06Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:Full Text:PDF
GTID:1367330548478637Subject:Higher Education
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The focus of the research is on Brunei Darussalam,a small Southeast Asian country situated on the island of Borneo.As a small nation with a population less than half a million,Brunei depends on education to shape its future.The Brunei Darussalam National Education System for the 21st Century(SPN21)aims to produce citizens who are committed and able to contribute to the future growth,prosperity,and stability of the country.The satisfaction of students in higher education institutions and employer satisfaction plays a crucial role in improving student success rates and enhancing their marketability upon their entry into the job market.The long-term development framework for Brunei,set out in Brunei Vision 2035,makes education and human capital development key priorities.Globally,universities use different investigative tools to assess and measure student feedback and implement various strategies to improve the quality of life of university students.Student satisfaction surveys are one of the essential tools used for this purpose.Unfortunately,Brunei has not yet carried out dual satisfaction levels surveys at the national level to assess student learning satisfaction and employer satisfaction,at any other higher educational institute in the country so far.Therefore,research into Brunei undergraduate university students' satisfaction is of great significance to the development of Brunei higher institutions.Two different questionnaires were used to measure student satisfaction and employer satisfaction respectively.The employer satisfaction questionnaire was used to identify differences between the employers' and students' perceptions of the most important competencies that are required to meet industry needs in various professions.These questionnaires were modified from the questionnaire used by the National College Student Survey(NCSS)developed by Professor Shi Qiuheng from the Institute of Higher Education,Xiamen University.Student participants were contacted mainly through university systems,and employer data and contact details were collected through the databases of the Institute of Brunei Technical Education(IBTE)and the Department of Economic Planning and Development(JPKE),as well as the yellow pages and social media.Broadly,this study supports the established I-E-O model(Astin,1991)in evaluating undergraduate learning satisfaction and employer satisfaction in Brunei Darussalam.The study analyzed data from 1048 student self-reports from 6 universities with a diverse student profile and 454 employer self-reports from private and public sectors with a diverse employer profile.The purpose of this study is to identify the variables/factors influencing student satisfaction at higher education institutions and employer satisfaction in Brunei.The paper describes each variable and highlights the differences between student feedback,institutional statistics on student satisfaction,student experience within the university environment,student overall learning satisfaction,and employer satisfaction about company characteristics.Exploratory factor analysis of student satisfaction includes four factors:course curriculum,library resources and peer relationship;university facilities and accommodation;lecturer teaching and guidance and adninistrative/nonteaching staff services.Students are satisfied with course curriculum,library resources and peer relationship;and university facilities and accommodation.Students are moderately satisfied with lecturer teaching and guidance as well as administrative/nonteaching staff services.The findings suggest that on the whole,administrative services and lecturer teaching and guidance are not up to the mark in Bruneian universities.Therefore,to increase student satisfaction in Brunei,the quality of nonteaching staff services,lecturer teaching and lecturer guidance can be improved.Students believe that social status is the most important factor in job selection,followed by personal interest in the job and work with minimal stress.The least important factor to students is higher salary,followed by contribution to society.In terms of hiring decision,students believe that prospective employers value GPA/grades and performance in the interview most,and major/discipline and resume least.From the overall analysis of employers' satisfaction,it can be concluded that Braneian employers consider academic major to be the most important factor of their hiring decision,followed by interview performance and resume;the least important factors are work experience,graduation university,and recommendation letters.The highest level of employer expectation in job competencies were communication abilities,problem solving skill/critical thinking,dedicated and commitment,self confidence/self esteem,leadership/managerial skills,time management,creativity and innovative,knowledge of specific computer applications,attendance/punctually and specific technical knowledge.Whereas compare to the current student job competencies readiness to work,there is still need more room to improve in critical thinking,leadership,meeting deadline,knowledge of specific computer application,punctuality and specific technical knowledge.A positive trend can be seen between the importance given to each competencies and the level of satisfaction with the competency,i.e.the greater the importance given to a competency,the higher the level of employer satisfaction with that competency.Given that it is a matter of subjective assessment,employers tend to recruit according to the competencies they consider to be most important;it is therefore logical for the level of satisfaction to be close to that of importance,as an employer will choose those candidates who better fulfill their selection criteria.A set of recommendations are formulated based on the results of the study.First of all,Brunei higher education institutions should pay attention to meet the needs of students,improve students learning satisfaction,and cultivate students' ability to meet the employers' requirements.At the same time,we should pay attention to the needs of diversified student groups and promote the cooperation among the stakeholders of higher education.More broadly,policymakers,university management,employers and stakeholders need to take note of the low level of student satisfaction in this study and work to improve these areas.Students' satisfaction is related to students' success in university study and fxture work,which is indispensable to the development of the country.Therefore,the future study should continue to study dual satisfaction,and expand the scope of research and increase the results.Secondly,higher education institutions can promote innovative entrepreneurship education.The younger generation of Bruneians are willing to take up challenging tasks.25.6%of the students surveyed would like to start their own small business as entrepreneurs after graduation.Most participants said that they have acquire a variety of skills at the university,which will help them develop their careers in the future and be able to look for more job opportunities.Students learn from interacting with entrepreneurs and are inspired to take their first steps in developing their business philosophy.Higher education should be aware that improving students' ability to innovate independently is of great benefit to students' future development,such as incubation programs,seminars and workshops guided by the Entrepreneurship Village to teach business students to develop business concepts and to help students become successful entrepreneurs.Thirdly,higher education institutions can set up Educational Development Centre to promote the quality of personnel training by improving the teaching and research capabilities of the Faculty of Higher education.The performance of teaching staff is closely related to the qualit:y of students,and will also affect the cultivation of students' talents.The goal of the university should be to inspire students' interest and potential through innovative teaching methods and continuous strengthening of teaching methods.In this regard,the recruitment and development of higher education personnel is very important.University lecturers should also pay attention to the factors of double satisfaction in order to improve the quality of higher education,cultivate students' competencies,improve teaching quality and improve their employability.Lastly,all higher education institutions should actively cooperate with other academic institutions and industries,both within and outside Brunei to expand its teaching capabilities,publication output,and scientific research.Partnerships with top universities around the world can pave way for better staff and student exchanges.Universities must focus on preparing graduates who are "future ready",that is graduates who will be relevant for the workplace and contribute to the economic development of the country.These graduates will be leaders,highly innovative,and have an entrepreneurial mindset.A holistic and multidisciplinary approach to education and personal development is integral in bringing Vision 2035 to fruition.The improvement of employment services as well as the establishment of links between students and employers,depending on the collaboration between university and industry.Specifically both the university and employers must work to meet the needs of economic and social development;set reasonable talents training targets;optimize the curriculum;upgrade the teaching content;and formulate the talent training plans.
Keywords/Search Tags:student learning satisfaction, Brunei, employer satisfaction, competencies, career development
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