A Prototype Instrument for Measuring Service Quality by Generation X Parents - A Case Study at the International School of Macao

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mabel

This quantitative research advances a service quality construct to measure perceived service quality of K-12 international schools among Generation X parents. It contextualises previously published private healthcare scale items into education-relevant items, then develops and confirms the revised items via an Item Objective Congruence Test (IOC) by industry experts. A pilot test supports reliability, followed by administration to 499 parents. Exploratory Factor Analysis reduces the standard five SERVQUAL factors to three: Responsibility, Assurance & Professionalism; Empathy & Facilities, explaining 65% variance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Literature Review

Service Quality

Asian Journal of Contemporary Education ISSN(e): 2617-1252 DOI: 10. 55493/5052 . v6i2 .4537 Vol. 6, No. 2, 93-103. © 2022 AESS Publications. All Rights Reserved. A PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING SERVICE QUALITY BY GENERATION X PARENTS: A CASE STUDY AT THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF MACAO Howard Stribbell1+ Somsit Duangekanong2 1,2Assumption University, Graduate School of Business and Advanced Technology Management, Bangkok, Thailand. 1Email: [howard.stribbell@tis.edu.mo](howard.stribbell@tis.edu.mo) 2Email: [somsitdng@au.edu](somsitdng@au.edu) (+ Corresponding author) ABSTRACT Article History Received: 18 April 2022 Revised: 10 June 2022 Accepted: 24 June 2022 Published: 14 July 2022 Keywords Service quality Exploratory factor analysis International school Quantitative methodology Generation X Assessment Item objective congruence test Macau. This quantitative research aimed to advance the use of the service quality construct to measure the perceived service quality of K-12 international schools by Generation X parents. It proposed an approach that contextualised previously published scale items for private healthcare into educationally relevant scale items. The revised scale items were developed and confirmed through an Item Objective Congruence Test (IOC) by industry experts. The instrument was tested for reliability through a pilot test and then administered to 499 parents in a school. The results used Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to reduce the complexity of the standard 5 service quality (SERQUAL) factors into 3 factors: Responsibility, Assurance and Professionalism, Empathy and Facilities which accounted for 65% of the variance of the SERVQUAL variables amongst Generation X parents at The International School of Macao. The revised instrument can be used to effectively measure parents’ perception of service quality in an international school setting. Contribution/ Originality: This research contributes to the existing literature of service quality by revising the instrument to contextually and reliably measure parents’perception of service quality in an international school setting. School leadership can reliably use the tool in school surveys to identify areas for improvement in service quality. 1. INTRODUCTION Despite being a service industry, there is a shortage of reliable instruments available to measure parents’perception of the service they receive while their children attend school. Parents’ satisfaction is often measured on an annual basis but there is no reliable method for measuring parents’perceived service quality. Satisfaction and perceived service quality are the two key components required to acquire a competitive advantage (Cronin, Brady & Hult, 2000; Zeithaml, Berry & Parasuraman, 1996) . While research has been conducted on service quality in higher education (Annamdevula & Bellamkonda, 2016a, 2016b; Nguyen, 2013; Shurair & Pokharel, 2019; Singh & Kumar, 2014; Sultan & Wong, 2012, 2014) there remains a noticeable gap in K-12 education. A deeper understanding of parents’ experiences will enable the school to adapt and improve their services, which in turn will enable the school to not only meet but, hopefully, exceed parents’ expectations. Therefore, the aim of this research is to develop a prototype instrument to measure parents’perception of service quality in a K-12 private school. Objectives ofthis research: 1. To modify the SERVQUAL instrument to suit the specific context of Generation X parents in The International School of Macao. 2. To explore the possibility of using a reliable, modified SERVQUAL prototype instrument to measure parents’perception of service quality. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW As the aim of the study is focussed on modifying a current SERVQUAL instrument to fit the specific research context of the current study, the literature review is limited in scope. Limiting the scope will enable an increase in focus on the conversion of

FAQs

What is the purpose of the prototype instrument in this study?

To measure Generation X parents’ perceived service quality in a K-12 private school setting by developing and validating education-contextualised scale items.

How were the revised instrument items developed and validated?

Revised items were developed and confirmed through an Item Objective Congruence Test (IOC) by industry experts, and their reliability was supported using a pilot test.

How did Exploratory Factor Analysis change the SERVQUAL structure?

EFA reduced the standard five SERVQUAL factors into three factors: Responsibility, Assurance and Professionalism, and Empathy and Facilities, accounting for 65% of the variance.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mabel