Understanding student satisfaction in performing arts education: a grounded theory study of undergraduate musical theatre education in China

This research initiative aims to address a gap in understanding student satisfaction within practice-intensive performing arts higher education, specifically focusing on undergraduate musical theatre education in China. While student satisfaction is a key indicator of educational quality, existing models are primarily based on general higher education contexts and do not adequately explain its formation in specialized fields requiring embodied training, skill integration, and performance practice.

Why it matters

Understanding how student satisfaction is formed in highly specialized and practice-intensive educational programs is crucial for enhancing educational quality and program design. This insight enables institutions to develop targeted strategies that improve student engagement, retention, and overall program effectiveness in unique disciplinary contexts.

Key insights

• The study aims to explore the formation of student satisfaction in undergraduate musical theatre education.
• A primary objective is to develop a process-oriented model explaining the underlying mechanisms of student satisfaction in this context.
• The research highlights that current student satisfaction models are largely derived from general higher education settings.
• Undergraduate musical theatre education serves as a valuable case study due to its unique combination of embodied training, cross-skill integration, rehearsal, and stage performance.

Source

Frontiers in Education — https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1903290