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The purpose of this paper is to improve future teacher training by assessment of university graduates’ satisfaction with their preparation in Basic Education teaching.

This descriptive study employed a self-administered survey questionnaire to a representative sample of 235 graduates between 2014 and 2016 from three universities in Chile. The questionnaire generated information about the graduates’ background (age, gender, parents’ education and prestige of secondary school attended); an evaluation of three dimensions of their degree program (instructional quality, infrastructure and employability), and experiences in the labor market (including salary). Analysis of variance was used to assess relationships between satisfaction, and other variables.

In general, graduates were satisfied with all aspects of their training. Satisfaction levels were higher from those assumed to have lower expectations. Contrary to this hypothesis, university prestige is not directly related to satisfaction. Instead, expectations and employability moderate the effect of prestige.

The sample is not representative of the 59 universities in Chile nor of the many other degree programs offered in those universities.

Program directors concerned about improving the public reputation or prestige of their program will benefit from efforts to improve the quality of the program and its infrastructure, and relevance for entrance into the world of work.

This study provides information not previously available about graduate satisfaction in teaching degree programs in Chile.

The job satisfaction of university graduates can serve as an indicator of success in their professional development. At the same time, it can be a measure of higher education systems’ effectiveness. The purpose is to assess the relationship of university graduates’ socio-demographic characteristics, aspects of their degree program, experiences in the labor market and current working conditions and their job satisfaction.

The data were collected from a survey conducted at 11 Chilean universities with 534 graduates. An ordinal logistic regression model was fit to calculate job satisfaction probabilities for different graduate profiles.

The results show that sex, field of study, gross salary and horizontal match are related to graduates’ job satisfaction. Men and graduates in education and humanities are more likely to report being satisfied with their current job. Those graduates receiving higher salaries and those who are horizontally well-matched report higher levels of job satisfaction.

This study contributes to expanding knowledge about the job satisfaction of university graduates. Specifically, based on the results obtained, it introduces the idea of aspiration fulfillment as a possible determinant of job satisfaction in different fields of study. This can serve as a starting point for research that delves into differentiated expectations for graduates from different disciplines.

This study analyzed the impact on the persistence of Chilean university students who had received a government-guaranteed loan (CAE).

Using academic and administrative data from 2016 to 2019, provided by 11 Chilean universities, a discrete-time survival model was constructed. The model was based on data of 5,276 students in the 2016 cohort and included sociodemographic variables, academic background prior to entering university and academic performance once in university. As a robustness check of our results to observable confounding, the analysis was repeated using a control group constructed using propensity score matching (PSM).

The results reveal that students who receive a bank loan (CAE) were more likely to remain in undergraduate studies for at least the first two years of university, as opposed to their peers who did not receive financial aid. In addition, they show the importance of academic performance in retention.

The article advances in the identification of the impact of bank loans on permanence. Although previous research has evaluated the impact of the CAE, it has been conducted on small samples of students. These studies also lacked student records associated with their academic performance at the university. The present research overcomes both weaknesses, allowing us to estimate the impact of the CAE on a larger population of students that is representative of the system.

The objective of the present study was to assess which teachers hired to teach secondary school dropouts are most likely to adapt their practices to match their students' characteristics. Chile recently initiated a system “second chance” schools for dropouts. Most of the teaching staff were recruited from the secondary schools from which the students had withdrawn. There was little variation in instructional practices or schedules. The second chance schools provide intensive instruction, small classes and flexibility in schedules and sequence of courses. The study sought to identify the teachers most likely to adapt old practices or learn new ones in order to provide students a different educational experience than that offered in conventional secondary schools.

The sampling design for this study was developed by the Statistics Department of the Ministry of Education. Taking enrollment into account, they randomly selected second chance schools from 13 of Chile's 16 regions. Then, they randomly selected 617 teachers from 38 of the selected schools. The teachers were invited to respond to a self-administered survey questionnaire that covered beliefs about and attitudes toward dropouts, and frequency of use of different teaching methods. The analytical procedures used include nonparametric correlations and logit regression.

Teaching methods in the second chance schools are influenced mostly by type of in-service training and not by student characteristics. Most teachers expect most students to graduate; teachers with more years of teaching are the least optimistic.

Relatively little research on second chance schools has been published in Latin America. The Second Opportunity Schools are the first effort in Chile to provide public secondary school to dropouts. The study provides detailed information about background and training linked to current teachers' instructional practices. The findings suggest actions that can be taken to improve the new schools.

The purpose of this paper is to determine which of the two variables would be a more reliable proxy for quality of university training: graduates’ satisfaction with their degree program, or institutional prestige.

Graduates of professional psychology and teaching programs from three Chilean universities responded to a questionnaire asking their perception of different aspects of their degree program and experiences in their first employment. The three universities differ significantly in the proportion of applicants admitted, and in their prestige.

Salary levels are highly related to profession, but unrelated to graduates’ ratings of quality of curriculum or teaching methods. Overall satisfaction with the university experience is not linked to job satisfaction. Job satisfaction, on the other hand, is highly influenced by salary and secondarily by instructional practices and perceived work relevance of the degree program.

This study is based on data from 3 of Chile’s 60 universities, and graduates of two programs. Most employment in the two professions is regulated by labor agreements. Generalizability of results is limited. Graduates may not have been employed enough to demonstrate their capacities.

The findings offer more evidence that prestige ratings are an unreliable indicator of the quality of formation offered by universities. If the government seeks to reduce income inequality, public subsidies of higher education should be based on program quality rather than on institutional prestige.

The findings are directly relevant to the current debate in Chile about what might and what might not help to reduce severe economic inequality.

From 1953 to 1961, the South Korean economy grew slowly; the average per capita GNP growth was a mere percent, amounting to less than $100 in 1961. Few people, therefore, look for the sources of later dynamism in this period. As Kyung Cho Chung (1956:225) wrote in the mid‐1950s: “[South Korea] faces grave economic difficulties. The limitations imposed by the Japanese have been succeeded by the division of the country, the general destruction incurred by the Korean War, and the attendant dislocation of the population, which has further disorganized the economy” (see also McCune 1956:191–192). T.R. Fehrenbach (1963:37), in his widely read book on the Korean War, prognosticated: “By themselves, the two halves [of Korea] might possibly build a viable economy by the year 2000, certainly not sooner.”

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between quality assurance, the traditional a priori approach, and a more recently developed empirical classification of universities, as a means of assessing whether the different classification systems fulfill their original purpose. The study analyzes Chilean university classifications because they have been used in setting up higher education public policies.

The existing classifications of Chilean universities were identified in the literature. Researchers determined categories, criteria and/or indicators used, as well as their main purposes as described by the authors of the classifications. All the criteria and indicators identified were directly related to the quality of academic activities and to the results of the university accreditation processes. The institutional accreditation outcomes and variables were studied using univariate and multivariate statistical analysis.

The a priori approach proved to be consistent with the results of institutional quality assurance, despite of the variability in individual performances. The empirical systems, however, do not show any contribution to the improvement of public policies in higher education. The results clearly show that classifications based on performance do not necessarily ensure improvements in institutional quality.

To the authors’ knowledge, this analysis is the first study of the relationship between university classification and quality assurance. The growing number of proposals for different empirical classifications in Chilean universities is evidence of institutional diversity only. However, the classification designs did not respond to purposes such as public policies improvements and other expected results from these instruments.

There have been many research studies on students’ satisfaction of services in universities in developed countries. However, students’ expectation and satisfaction of public and private higher education institutions (HEIs) with regard to service quality in Eastern Europe have been under-researched. Therefore, this study aims to offer an empirical examination of student satisfaction of the service quality of public and private HEIs in Albania by evaluating the gap between students’ expectation and perception and the effect of student satisfaction on retention in HEIs.

The survey instrument used in this study was the student satisfaction inventory in the USA. Primary data were collected from a survey of students in two private and four public HEIs in Albania. A total of 554 valid responses were collected from the survey.

The findings suggested that there were performance gaps between public and private HEIs. Public universities performed well in terms of concern for the individual, campus support services, student-centeredness and instructional effectiveness. Private HEIs scored well in terms of concern for the individual, academic advising effectiveness, instructional effectiveness and safety and security (parking). There is a significant difference in students’ perception of the overall satisfaction of HEIs. Students’ overall satisfaction positively impacts their retention.

Overall, this study provides valuable insights to private and public HEIs’ administrators regarding to student satisfaction and retention. The findings will have far-reaching managerial implications for all groups of stakeholders in terms of the service delivery by universities in Albania and Eastern Europe.