Unequal Treatment and Program Satisfaction Among Students of European and Chinese Origin

Oct 15, 2026

A four-year panel study at an ethnically diverse commuter university analyzes links among assessments of professor performance, GPA, academic program satisfaction, and perceptions of equal treatment across ethno-racial origins. Repeated ANOVA shows the first three variables do not clearly separate by ethno-racial origin, yet non-European origin students more often perceive unequal treatment. Additional relationship analyses within and between years show different drivers of program satisfaction for European-origin versus Chinese-origin students.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages35

Reading Time1 h 28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Résumé

Introduction

CSSHE SCÉES Canadian Journal of Higher Education Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur Volume 37, No. 3, 2007, pages 51-85 [www.ingentaconnect.com/content/csshe/cjhe](www.ingentaconnect.com/content/csshe/cjhe) Unequal Treatment and Program Satisfaction Among Students of European and Chinese Origin J. Paul Grayson York University ABSTRACT A four year panel study at an ethnically diverse commuter university examines the relationships among assessments of professor performance, GPA, academic program satisfaction, and perceptions of equal treatment of students of varying ethno-racial origins. Repeated analyses of variance indicate that although the ﬁrst three of these variables do not clearly divide on the basis of ethno-racial origin, non-European origin students are more likely than those of European origin to perceive that not all students are treated equally. Analyses of relationships among variables within and between years indicates that the factors explaining the program satisfaction of students of European origin are different than those explaining satisfaction of Chinese origin students. For the former, it is likely that certain personality characteristics playa key role; for the latter, perceptions of equal treatment of students are more important. RÉSUMÉ Un panel d’une durée de quatre ans, constitué dans une université non-résidentielle fréquentée par des étudiantes et étudiants d’originesethniques diverses, nous a permis d’examiner les relations entre les variables suivantes : la perception de la performance des enseignants, 52 CJHE / RCES Volume 37, No. 3, 2007 la moyenne générale, la satisfaction à l’égard du programme d’études et la perception d’un traitement égal de tous (peu importe l’origine ethnique) . Des analyses de variance répétées indiquent que les trois premières de ces variables ne créent pas de distinctions claires sur la base de l’origine ethnique. Par contre, les étudiantes et étudiants d’origine autre qu’européenne sont plus susceptibles que ceux d’origine européenne de percevoir que tous ne sont pas traités également. De plus, l’analyse des relations entre variables au cours d’une mêmeannée et entre différentes années indique que les facteurs expliquant la satisfaction des étudiantes et étudiants d’origine européenne sont différents de ceux qui expliquent la satisfaction de ceux d’origine chinoise. Pour les premiers, il semble que certaines caractéristiquesassociées à la personnalité jouent un rôle; pour les seconds, il est plus important de percevoir que tous les étudiantes et étudiants sont traités également. INTRODUCTION Many economically advantaged countries, including Canada, are experiencing large scale immigration from less economically privileged parts of the world. In Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, Canada’s largest cities, immigrants comprise 44%, 18%, and 38% of the population (Justus, 2004) . In contrast to earlier decades, in which most immigrants to Canada in general, and Toronto in particular, were of European descent, at the turn of the current century, most immigrants to Toronto were from China, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Iran, Russia, South Korea, and Jamaica. In Toronto, the largest single group of these immigrants (17%) was from China (p. 43) . According to the 2001 census, in Toronto, among individuals of Chinese origin aged 25 to 34, 43.7% had completed at least one university degree. The ﬁgure for all Torontonians was only 31.5%(Ornstein, 2006) . Although not all of these individuals would have acquired their university credentials in Canada, the numbers nonetheless suggest a commitment to higher education among individuals of Chinese origin in Metropolitan Toronto. In addition to Canadian citizens of Chinese origin, Toronto universities also host international Chinese students. Although precise ﬁgures for the Toronto area are unavailable, in 2004-05, 17,600 international Chinese students enrolled in Canadian universiti

FAQs

What does the four-year panel study investigate?

It examines how professor performance assessments, GPA, academic program satisfaction, and perceived equal treatment relate across ethno-racial origins.

Do GPA and professor performance assessments differ clearly by ethno-racial origin?

Repeated analyses of variance indicate these variables do not clearly divide by ethno-racial origin.

What factors explain program satisfaction for European-origin versus Chinese-origin students?

The study indicates different explanatory factors: personality-related characteristics for European-origin students, while perceptions of equal treatment are more important for Chinese-origin students.

Oct 15, 2026

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