An Evaluation of the Relationship between Service Quality in Primary Education and Parent Satisfaction

Abstract

The education is not only a major sector nowadays, but it is also an investment by parents for their children. This study aims to investigate the effect of the dimensions (reliability, tangibility, responsiveness, assurance and empathy) of service quality in primary education on parent satisfaction. This research is conducted in a public primary school and self-administered questionnaire is used to collect the related data. Data is collected based on SERVQUAL model through distributing 400 questionnaires to randomly selected parents in Celal Avşar Primary School in Turkey. The results of this study show that the tangibility, the reliability, the assurance and the empathy of service quality are important dimensions and they have significant positive effect on parent satisfaction.

Assessment of Predictors that Influence Parents’ Satisfaction towards Private Kindergartens: A SERVQUAL Analysis

“…Five dimensions of service quality namely reliability, tangibles, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy were examined on their influence on parents' satisfaction. The result is consistent with the finding in Chen and Childhood (2016) and Incesu and Asikgil (2012), that is the reliability is significantly linked to the parents' satisfaction. It is observed in the findings that the parents value reliability the most as the private kindergartens are able to provide healthy and safe meals, promise things can complete on schedule, help children to resolve problems and faithfully inform parents about education information.…”

“…In the healthcare sector, assurance has a significant impact on patients by explaining that employees usually provide their clients with medical treatment, data sharing and clear medical understanding (Suki & Lian, 2011). Similar to the education sector, assurance has a significant impact on the parent's satisfaction (Incesu & Asikgil, 2012). This study indicated that parents attach great importance to the courtesy and trust of employees and teachers.…”

“…Parents expect their children to interact sufficiently with their teachers to satisfy the children (Kim, 2014). Incesu and Asikgil (2012) reported there is a significant impact between empathy and parents' satisfaction. Empathy measured through care and personal attention (Kim, 2014) can have an impact on satisfaction as customers believe that the organization is trying to individualize services based on their personal needs (Vaz & Mansori, 2013).…”

“…Reliability is seen as a vital aspect of service that contributes to a greater degree of a disappointment than satisfaction. Previous empirical studies have proven that reliability has a significant positive relationship with customer satisfaction (Amin & Isa, 2008 Incesu & Asikgil, 2012;Parasuraman et al, 1988;. Previous studies in various sectors assess reliability through measures such as deliver timely service, provide accurate service, as well as respond promptly and politely (Meesala & Paul;.…”

“…This dimension is commonly used to relate the physical properties of the service providers, the tools utilized to provide service and also the appearance of the employees. Empirical studies have proven that tangible has a significant positive relationship on customer satisfaction (Al-Borie & Damanhouri, 2013;Incesu & Asikgil, 2012;Zakaria, Hussin, Batau & Zakaria, 2010). Physical facilities and other features of the physical environment show a significant impact on fulfilling first impressions (Vaz & Mansori, 2013).…”