Undergraduate Students' Satisfaction with Hostel and Sense of Attachment to Place: Case Study of University Sains Malaysia

Abstract

Problem statement: Unlike numerous studies have explored residents’ satisfaction and sense of attachment to housing, little discussion exists on this area addressing the relationship between sense of attachment to place and student housing satisfaction. To fill such a gap, this article was an attempt to investigate undergraduate students’ level of satisfaction and sense of attachment to place drawn from three ethnics (Malay, Chinese and Indian) living in the hostels of University Sains Malaysia to see if there is a significant relationship between the level of satisfaction and sense of attachment to hostel and whether Chinese, Indians and Malay students differ from one another significantly in their satisfaction with hostel and sense of attachment to place. Approach: A 33 item questionnaire measuring satisfaction of students with (hostel fees, sharing the room, hostel distance from facilities provided on University campus and hostel distance from school’, hostel design and layout, hostel population, hostel rules and regulations, hostel safety and hostel security and so forth) and sense of attachment to place was used in this research. A sample of 267 (168 Malay, 76 Chinese and 23 Indians) students were randomly selected from seven hostels of University Sains Malaysia. Results: The findings of the study showed a significant positive correlation between level of satisfaction and sense of attachment to place (r = 0.529; p<0.01, n = 267). An insignificant difference was found between three ethnics (Malay, Chinese and Indian) on the level of satisfaction with hostel and sense of attachment to place. Conclusion: It was concluded that (1) higher sense of attachment is associated with an increase in level of satisfaction. (2) Satisfaction and attachment to hostel are not affected by the student’s ethnicity.