國際高等教育:國際學生在臺學習成就滿意度之研究

Abstract

Taiwan has proven and continues to prove its economic prowess as a fast and well developed nation. One theory to account for this accomplishment is its continued success in developing its best natural resource - its people - through education. A continuum of this practice is the implementation of Higher Education and then International Higher Education. Since the early 1990’s higher education foreign students have been studying in Taiwan obtaining degrees in various academic disciplines at both undergraduate and graduate levels. However, a foreign student, like any other expatriate, may have problems adjusting to a new country. Therefore this study examines the factors that cause students satisfaction or dissatisfaction in adapting and adjusting to life in Taiwan and how those factors may further affect their academic performance. The research method of data collection is a quantitative case study using the Student Satisfaction Questionnaire that was developed and piloted by the researcher. The population is higher education students who have been studying for at least one year in Taiwan and are doing courses in English. The response rate is 73.1%. The results indicate that majority of the international students are satisfied (M = 3.47, SD = .68) where 51.6% could be described satisfied to very satisfied and only 9.4% as dissatisfied. From the 35 questions as independent variables, only 7 show statistical significance to students’ academic performance. Using regional dummy variables, Europe and South America show significance. Age and gender has no significance to students’ performance. TaiwanICDF and Non-TaiwanICDF scholarship students’ status are not significant to students’ performance and there is no statistical difference between their performances. Students Degree is significant to their performance and there is also significant difference between the Graduate and Undergraduate academic performances. The main findings of this research should assist the scholarship organizations, the education institutions, and the Ministry of Education in making the transition and life of foreign students smoother. It may also assist future foreign students in preparation for adjusting and adapting to Taiwan. Finally, the study offers recommendations all the parties involved and the researcher provides suggestions for future research that could aid in learning about the lives of foreign students in Taiwan