Satisfaction with university housing facilities and the influence on self-image and academic performance: A study at the University of Coimbra
Keywords:
university residences, academic self-image, satisfaction with facilities, academic performance, higher educationCopyright (c) 2025 Natalia de Oliveira Ferraz, Maria do Rosario Pinheiro, Anabela Pereira
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Entering university is for many students a time of great change on a personal level. The complexity surrounding the academic performance process requires an analysis of variables that go far beyond classroom spaces. Assuming that upstream of the design of these spaces, there is also the possible impact on the overall satisfaction of the student with the facilities of the university residences as well as, on their academic performance. This empirical investigation with a transversal design of quantitative characters using descriptive and inferential analysis aims to understand the relationship between the overall satisfaction that the student feels regarding living in the university residence (RU), the satisfaction he feels regarding the facilities in his room and his academic self-image. This analysis involved a sample of 609 students (55.67% of the total population), collected exclusively from 13 University Residences (UR) of the Social Action Services of the University of Coimbra (SASUC). The scales (EAIA and ESIQ), used here, are part of a more comprehensive Protocol for the Quality of Life Assessment of Resident Students (PAQvER). The results revealed that students feel satisfied with “sleeping in the bedroom”, with “Studying in the bedroom”, but dissatisfied with the circuits of surveillance cameras. The same students revealed themselves to see as students with defined goals, however with lower academic income. Correlational analyzes showed the existence of a direct and positive relationship between the self-image that the student has of his motivation, his investment in the course and the general perception of the room.
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