Applying Market Segmentation Theory to Student Behavior in Selecting a School or Department

Autor/inn/en	Chen, Yu-Fen; Hsiao, Chin-Hui
Titel	Applying Market Segmentation Theory to Student Behavior in Selecting a School or Department
Quelle	In: New Horizons in Education, 57 (2009) 2, S.32-43 (12 Seiten) PDF als Volltext (1); PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (2) Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1683-1381
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Student Recruitment; Vocational Education; Competition; Multivariate Analysis; Student Behavior; Selection; Decision Making; Reputation; Marketing; Researchers; Taiwan + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Ausbildung; Berufsbildung; Wettkampf; Multivariate Analyse; Student behaviour; Schülerverhalten; Auslese; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Researcher; Forscher
Abstract	Background: Because of the educational reform and decreasing birth rate in Taiwan over the past 20 years, higher technological and vocational Education (TVE) in Taiwan faces a severe student recruitment competition. Dailey (2007) indicates the need to develop marketing strategies in higher education is evident. TVE institutes are beginning to recognize the need to become more businesslike and the value of marketing in achieving a competitive advantage (Ewing & Napoli, 2005). Aims: This study, adopts marketing segmentation theory to find the major factors students emphasized when selecting a school or department. Sample: First of all, the researcher divided the country into three major areas: Northern, Central, and Southern. Two TVE schools were chosen randomly per area, with 200 freshman students from each school respectively. One thousand two hundred TVE freshman students in Taiwan were surveyed in this study. Method: The collected data were analyzed using cluster and discriminate analyses. Results: The result indicated that 4 factors, "reputation and quality", "function and convenience", "emotion and meaning", and "scale and structure", were considered most important by students. The students were categorized into 3 groups: "career oriented" students (50.42%) considered "reputation and quality" as most important factor, "emotion oriented" students (19.71%) concerned most on "emotion and meaning," and "environment oriented" students (29.87%) concerned most on "function and convenience" and "scale and structure". Conclusion: Based on the results, the researcher made the following recommendations which may serve as critical references for school administrators and policy makers while making their recruitment strategies: 1. Investigate the evaluation standards of how students choose their schools. 2. Reinforce school's internal marketing. 3. Improve school's image. 4. Establish a specific department responsible for recruiting students. (Contains 8 tables and 2 notes.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Hong Kong Teachers' Association. 242 Nathan Road, National Court 7/F, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Tel: +852-2367-3420; Fax: +852-2722-4813; e-mail: hkta1934@yahoo.com.hk; Web site: http://www.cpe.ied.edu.hk/newhorizon
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10