Abstract
Factors outside the classroom can contribute to academic success as well as the achievement of important outcomes such as the appreciation of human diversity. Striving towards equality of residence life satisfaction is thus important for academic outcomes and for the development of well-functioning citizens. This study is based on the 2011 Quality of Residence Life (QoRL) Survey, conducted at a South African university, comprising roughly 2,000 respondents. The study investigates the association between satisfaction with QoRL and (i) residence milieu and characteristics, (ii) direct and indirect discrimination, (iii) perceptions of drug and alcohol issues in residence, (iv) safety, and (v) individual student characteristics. One main finding is that there are no significant differences in satisfaction with QoRL across racial and gender groups; suggesting significant progress in university transformation and equity goals. The general atmosphere and characteristics of residences are also important predictors of QoRL satisfaction.
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Notes
- 1.
In this paper, the terms “satisfaction”, “well-being”, and “quality of life” are used synonymously, though it is recognised that these terms can be used separately as well.
- 2.
Unless stated otherwise in section “Results”, by “satisfaction” is meant “satisfaction with residence life”.
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Acknowledgements
We thank an anonymous referee for comments and suggestions. We also thank Alan Collins, Gavin Keeton, Geoff Antrobus, and participants at the 11th Conference of the International Society for Quality of Life Studies during 1–4 November 2012 in Venice, Italy, for helpful discussions and suggestions. The financial support of Economic Research Southern Africa (ERSA) is acknowledged.
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Botha, F., Snowball, J., de Klerk, V., Radloff, S. (2015). Determinants of Student Satisfaction with Campus Residence Life at a South African University. In: Maggino, F. (eds) A New Research Agenda for Improvements in Quality of Life. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 57. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15904-1_2
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