Service Quality in Private Secondary Schools: Extension to EduQUAL with a case from Turkey

Abstract

Previous research on measuring the service quality presents alternative assessment instruments of SERVQUAL by customizing the generic indicators of service quality to sector-specific features for various service markets. EduQUAL is the specific method of SERVQUAL assessment for measuring the service quality of educational services. This study contributes to the EduQUAL literature by extending with a new dimension covering the quality assessment of the core educational services with empirical evidence generated in 2019 over the secondary-school students of private schools operating in Turkey. Therefore, the current study aims to extend the EduQUAL assessment of the private chain schools and aims to which of these successful schools' service quality indicators predict student satisfaction and student loyalty. The study's data represents 305 students' perceptions of a private school operating in Turkey with more than 100 branches. The factor analysis results yield a new dimension related to core educational services. The regression analyses' results reveal that the core educational services predict only student satisfaction with other service quality indicators. Empathy-related services at schools are the most significant indicators of the EduQUAL both on student satisfaction and student loyalty.