Online learning satisfaction and its associated factors among international students in China

Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a substantial transition of Chinese international education to online learning. This article discusses the impact of online learning from international students’ perspectives. Data were collected from exploratory interviews with a small group of international students at a research university and a nationwide survey involving 1,010 international students at 41 universities in China. A synthesis of the two studies’ findings pointed to low levels of online learning satisfaction, particularly among international students from Africa, those in undergraduate programs, those in life sciences and medical disciplines, and those studying at research-centered universities. Moreover, both studies revealed low emotional engagement significantly predicted international students’ online learning dissatisfaction. To enhance international students’ satisfaction, it is suggested that universities and teachers prioritize the building of student-centered online learning environments supporting international students’ emotional involvement and helping them feel a greater sense of belonging in online intercultural learning.

Satisfaction with Online Chinese Learning among International Students in China: A Study Based on the fsQCA Method

“…In contrast, this study revealed that the factors previously deemed as influentialsuch as the accessibility of online learning resources, course organization, and learning achievement-did not significantly influence student satisfaction [33,36]. In particular, the presence or absence of student interactions did not significantly affect satisfaction in the configurations of S1 and S2 despite its previously reported importance in online learning [32,33].…”

“…This study performed descriptive statistical analysis, and the results show that the mean score of student satisfaction was 3.73, between "neutral" (3) and "agree" (4), indicating that the participants tended to feel satisfied with their online CFL learning. This finding was largely consistent with the previous studies on online EFL learning [12,33,35] but different from reports of lower levels of satisfaction in studies on general online learning experiences among domestic students [15,26] and international students in Chinese HEIs during the pandemic [36]. Therefore, further research is needed to explore whether differences exist between international students' satisfaction with online CFL learning and their satisfaction with learning in their major fields of study and why.…”

“…Moreover, in-depth interviews with Korean students highlighted the positive influences of resource accessibility on these students' satisfaction with online EFL learning [12,33]. These findings are supported by a study of international students in China, which confirmed the significance of resource accessibility in enhancing online learning satisfaction during the pandemic [36].…”

Analysis and Prediction of Students' Adaptation to Online Education Systems Based on Data Analysis and Decision Tree Machine Learning Algorithms

“…Data analytics and machine learning algorithms play an important role in studying students' adaptation to online education systems. Data analytics can help to collect and process a large amount of data on student behaviour, feedback and performance, from which potential patterns and trends can be mined [6]. Through data analysis, it is possible to build an understanding of the complex relationships between the factors that influence students' adaptation to the online education system.…”

Online Learning Course Amid Outbreaks: A Comparison of Satisfaction Between Islamic High School and High School Students

“…The level of student satisfaction is at an average score of 3.45 denote neutral which is related to stimulation and attractiveness (Agyeiwaah et al, 2022). Satisfaction of students from Africa is at a low level which is the result of low emotional engagement (Tian & Lu, 2022). Student satisfaction with online learning is related to online student attributes, time management, technical competencies, and online communication competencies (Rafsanjani et al, 2021).…”