Executive Summary

This study was administrated to students who lived and are living in the various hostels of
Bangladesh. The primary purpose of this study was to identify the most important factors that
predict level of satisfaction with the student hostels they are living in. This paper also explored
the difference in the satisfaction levels of students living in hostels within the campus and those
living in hostels outside the campus. Based on literature review, it was hypothesized that there
would be a difference in the satisfaction level between these two groups of hostel residents due
to the different characteristics that these hostels have. Additionally, this study investigated the
most preferred hostels among students and identified the reasons for the preference. A sample
population of 84 students (48 males; and 36 males) was involved in this study with 58.8% living
in hostels inside the campus and 41.2% living in hostels located outside the main campus area.
The result of the study suggests that satisfaction with fees, distance from university facilities,
room safety, room size, security, and facilities are the most important factors which predict
students’ satisfaction with their hostel. There was also a significant difference in the satisfaction
level between inside-campus and outside-campus hostels students. The most important factors
that influenced that students satisfaction levels were distance from the university facilities, the
exterior condition, population, and satisfaction with transport, security, room size, and room
safety. The study also found that during the post Covid and post lockdown situation, a very
important factor was the network coverage in terms of availability of internet facility in these
living accommodations.
Introduction
Human personality is shaped by the experiences of life. When a child is born the family provides
a protective environment for the child, at the beginning the interactions are limited, later social
interactions increase, and the process of socialization starts. Which enable the individuals to
become an effective member of a society. Human’s lifestyle and personality are affected by
his/her surroundings. Therefore the social structure plays a vital role in the development of
personality and behavior.

Researches have been conducted to highlight the importance of the home environment, and the
role of family members in the development of the children. Differences in child development
start with the socioeconomic status of the family, biological endowment, and educational
differences. These family differences make enduring changes in the personality of the children.
As family members play an important role in the development of children. Therefore a
cooperative family environment inculcates confidence in children. Residential area also affects
the process of socialization. This in turn limits or expands educational opportunities for children
(Fergusson, Horwood, & Boden, 2008, Tucker, Zandvoort, Burke, & Irwin, 2011).

Education is a part of child develop, it started with the birth and lasted till the time of death. It is
a process in which an individual learn new skills and information. The main goal of education is
to encourage the individual to acquire tasks, knowledge, facts, and traits which previously not
obtained. Human society depended to learn, where parents and other members from our society
can facilitate the process of learning (Callaway, 1979)

Since Bangladesh is a developing country, very limited budget is reserved for the education
department, higher education facilities are only accessible in developing and big cities of
Bangladesh. Because of that students need to stay in hostel for higher education. So in
Bangladesh hostels play an important role in the educational journey of students. Hostels are
proving residential opportunities for the students to continue the process of education.
Objective of research article
The aims of the research were as follows,

• To explore the perception of students about hostel life.

• To study observational differences among hostel students.

• To study the psychological and behavioral impacts of hostel life.

• To study the influence of the multicultural peer group.

• To make suitable recommendation for the improvement of hostel facilities in Bangladesh.

Literature review
Meaning of Hostel
In some countries the word hostel is specifically used for the accommodation of student and
travelers. However in India and Bangladesh, the hostel is believed to be a place of residence that
a school, colleges or universities has, for the accommodations of their students. All hostels are
supervised by the hostel wardens and other staff. The hostel generally consists hundreds of
students. All of them make a group of students. These students come from different ethical,
social, geographical and economical background.

The hostel is a place where students stay for pursuing formal education away from their homes.
But the concept of hostel is not only limited to place of residence, hostel is a human practical
laboratory. Therefore hostel is not simply a place for living it is a center of education. Students
learn as much as from their teachers as well as fellows during hostel stay. It enriches the
understanding of the curriculum through analytical discussion among the students living in the
hostels, and may contribute to character building as well. Students in hostel not only learn the
theoretical material they also learn how to enhance their personal abilities and learn to live
independent (Mishra, 1994).

Impact of Hostel Life

Residing in students’ housing, faraway from family for a long period of time, is an enduring
experience for young students. This new life style provides an opportunity to learn how to live
independently, compromise with other students and roommates, share space and facilities and so
forth. The influence of the environment and accommodation on the satisfaction level of
university students has been a popular area of study and of compelling interest to universities. In
relation to this, such studies indicates that good hostel condition and facilities in university
campuses have a positive influence on the overall student enrollment (Bekurs, 2007).

Although there are many studies that investigate factors influencing residents’ satisfaction with
their homes and neighborhood, there seems to be a lack of inquiry into students’ satisfaction with
their university housing (Amole 2009). In studies that place the critical lens on students’
satisfaction levels of their university accommodation, the units of focus have been diverse such
as on the influence of the physical attributes, and, psychological and management aspects. Most
of these studies indicate that there is a direct co-relation between the satisfaction levels and the
hostel environment. Basically, when the environment meets the individuals’ expectation a higher
degree of satisfaction has been noted. On the other hand, incongruence between housing needs
and aspirations leads to dissatisfaction (Mohit et. al, 2010). Thus, it can be concluded that
understanding students’ satisfaction predicting factors can assist universities to undertake
changes to increase satisfaction among them. However, there is a paucity of research on student
housing satisfaction factors especially in Bangladesh. Hence, this study is an attempt to fill this
gap to a certain degree. Consequently, the current study seeks to identify the most important
factors that predict students’ satisfaction with their on campus accommodation in various
educational institutions in hostels of Bangladesh.

Living away from family for a specific period of time leaves some enduring experiences in the
life of the students. In this new life style student learns to live independently, and learn how to
compromise with the other students and roommates (Kozaei et al., 2010).

Students living in hostels face many difficulties and hurdles such as financial crises, adjustment
issues, personal helplessness, distress, changes in eating and sleep habits, and many other issues.
Research suggests that empathy, altruistic behavior, emotional stability will be more in hostel
students. Hostel environment gives an opportunity for socialization among students (Mimrot,
2012).

While living in hostel students share their personal ideology with other students, and learn many
new ideas from their hostel fellows. Hostel life also influences the students’ views and
perceptions about the religion. Hostel life also makes students more ambitious, those students
who have stayed in hostels are more self-reliant and confident than other students. In hostels
students learns courage and spirit from other students, and that may help students to face the
practical life more confidently. It is a common perception that, hostel life has a unique impact on
the pattern of students’ life. Living in the hostel makes students socially and behaviorally
different. Boarding or hostel life is a combination of different cultural backgrounds, in the hostel
life students learns to live with different cultural background people.

There is a popular quotation “Times change people changes” it is best applicable for the hostel
students. Hostel life going to change the way a student is, its effect on the personality behavior,
thinking, and dressing as well. In hostel students are surrounded by other students of about the
same age as they are, all those students have different characteristics. In hostel life all students
have to adjust to the other students stayed in the hostel (Thakkar, 2012).

Behavior and Personality

Personality is the combinations of multiple traits which are consistent and enduring. Personality
is what a person is. The interaction with others is the expression of the one’s personality.
Thinking and behaving is the elements of personality, thinking is linked with the emotions.
Therefore individual’s perception and thinking are related to the thinking process. Life
experiences also affect the individual ways of thinking and behaving. Personality is the
characteristics those are persistent in different situation. Personality is the expression of
individual’s being. Life experiences are shown by the behaviors of individuals. Behaviors vary
from individual to individual and also changed by the surrounding environment (Raju et al.,
2009).

Social life experiences enable individuals to transfer the knowledge, experiences, and values to
the personal abilities. These personal abilities are the sole of the individual personality. So the
personality characteristics are shaped by the social exposure and individual’s ability of gaining
knowledge of the external world. Life skills are the ability that teach individual to behave
appropriately to the situation (Yadav & Iqbal, 2009).
Methodology
Participants
A sample of 84 students’ response via online questionnaire forms answers were received from
different university hostels Bangladesh. Convenience purposive sampling was used to select the
hostel students. The sample consisted of 48 male and 36 female hostel students. For attaining
maximum variation in sample, hostel students were selected from different cities. The students
were also selected from Public universities as well as private or international universities located
in two different cities of Bangladesh. The reason for selecting these students was that they
represent the cultures of their cities and they provide better information about their experience of
hostel life. The students were also from various levels of their academic journey ranging from
starting juniors, to fresh graduates looking for new opportunities of life.

Material
A commonly set questionnaire form was used for data collection. Some protocol was prepared
for using the data of the answers of these form responses. These data gathered was used as a
source in performing the qualitative research study. In this technique no face-to-face
conversation has been done for gathering relevant information. Usually open ended questions are
used while in some cases a range of possible common response was suggested. Like other
interview questionnaires, this questionnaire was also pre planned to some extent questions are
prepared in proceeding further questions (Wengraf, 2004).

Procedure
A study was done on 84 hostel students to identify the significant questions for the collection of
information data. A questionnaire was constructed it contained thirteen questions. These
questions were designed to explore the hostel life experiences and impact of hostel life on
students’ behaviors. Consent for using these as a part of academic research was taken before
starting the interviews from all the form respondents. 84 full completed questionnaire responses
of the hostel students were t6aken into account for the final responses. Respondents were
encouraged to express their experience of hostel life with use of elaborative examples of they
had scope or opportunity. The probable duration of receiving a complete response via the form
questionnaire was 4 to 5 minutes.
Findings
Result of this study reveals that hostel has great importance in education system of Bangladesh.
Hostel life affects students in different ways, the finding of the study is concisely depicted in the
Figure 1.

Confidence
Behavior Enhancement of management abilities
Punctuality
Emotional Strength

Becoming more Realistic

Attaining Maturity
Impact of Improved Dressing sense
Personality
Hostel Life Becoming more goal oriented

Homesickness
Negative Exploitation of Freedom
Adjustment issues
effects Health Problems

Figure 1: Impact of Hostel Life on Students

The research study conducted helped to understand the impact of hostels on the life of students
such as behavior and personality. Through their responses, students wrote about hostel life very
uniquely, indicating that hostels have a great importance in our country as they provide shelter to
students, and it also reduces the distance to educational institutions. It provides an opportunity
for students to continue the process of education.

Study revealed that hostel and home are interrelated. At home individuals have the support of
parents and siblings and in hostel students have to deal with their problems with the help of
hostel friends and roommates. Nature of responsibilities changes in hostel. They learn to take
care of themselves, become sensitive toward others, and learn to avoid others irritating
behaviors. Students independently handle all matters.

When students come in hostel the first problem they have to face was to adjust with the hostel
environment and roommates. Students reported that in starting days they missed their home and
family too much and sometime after talking with parents on cell phones they started to weep for
some time and then get control of their emotions. At that time roommate and hostel friends
provide helps to adjust in a hostel.

It is difficult for students to adjust in hostel because the hostel life was entirely different from the
home, and especially when the roommates have different temperaments. But it becomes as a
compulsion for hostel students to adjust with the roommates.

For adjusting in hostel students develops friendship with each other that may help students to
live in a hostel. Hostel friends and roommates live together like a family member and that
facilitate the hostel life.

The main reason to stay in a hostel is the continuation of education. Students prefer to live in
hostel as they feel they can better concentrate on studies where alone and solitude environment
provided for study. That gives them opportunity to polish their educational abilities. Also study
periods are specially arranged and all other activities are prohibited in this period. Thus all these
actions lead to improve the educational performance of the hostel students.

Hostel life also affects the behaviors of students. It helps students to adapt new behaviors. It
boosts the confidence level, improves the sense of dressing, students learns to compromise, and
it also enhances the management abilities of students.

Hostel students reveled that hostel life affects the student’s way of living. Hostel makes students
more punctual, independent, confident, social, realistic, disciplined, and also sharp. They also
learn to live independently. They learn to solve their own problems by themselves without the
parental guidance and support that may enhance their problem solving skills.

Hostel life is the combination of different individuals where all students live like a social group.
During hostel life the confidence level of students increased the reason is that they learn to
preserve themselves, and acknowledge their self-worth. Hostel life also makes students' self-
dependent.

During hostel stay students are directly exposed to the external world of reality, and that
experience makes them mentally mature. A student or individual who stays at home has less
opportunity to learn about the external world as compared to those students staying in a hostel. In
hostel, students have the opportunity to gain knowledge from others.

While staying in hostel students learns how to move in society, it also provides opportunity to
learn about society, individuals, and world. Meanwhile by observing others they improve their
social skills such as communication, relating with others, management and leadership qualities.

While living with different students, each individual has the opportunity to decide about their life
goals. Students become aware of what is right and what is wrong for them. Hostel life also
contains the message of mutual cooperation and healthy competition. As roommates and hostel
fellows also motivate students each other, and facilitate in making future plans.

Hostel students learn to handle and organized their finances. They became aware how to deposit
money. This ability helps students in their practical life. Become mentally mature especially
students learn in hostel how to handle the complicated situations by themselves without parental
support.

The negative effects of hostel life are such as it makes students lazy, in hostel due to no parental
check students showed careless attitude toward their studies which results in low educational
performance. Students waste their time with hostel friends. Again health concerns and problems
of initial adjustments are always present in most cases.
Limitations and Recommendations
In Bangladesh, the qualitative research is still not a common research method. It is needed that
qualitative research should be promoted in our country.

The results of this qualitative research study cannot be generalized because of the small sample size of
less than even a 100 students.

A very limited literature existed on this topic.

The sample in this study was only collected from the major cities that may restrict the findings. The
sample might be extended to other cities with less facilities in our country for gathering rich information
about of the experiences of hostel students.

Conclusion
To conclude, the main finding of this study is that inside and outside campus hostels students had
significantly different levels of satisfaction. Among the several feedbacks found from the
participating students investigated in this study, hostels in Dhaka city were the most preferred
hostel among the students. The study’s findings suggest that the most important factors that
predict students’ satisfaction with their hostels are the rental rates, distance from educational
facilities, room safety, room size, hostel security, and the hostel’s other facilities. The findings of
this study should therefore be considered by concerned ones to understand the impacts hostels
are making in the country and evaluate the future prospects of more hostels in our country, in
their attempt to improve the quality of their hostels.
Bibliography
Amole, D. (2009). Residential satisfaction in students’ housing. Journal of Environmental Psychology,
29, 76-85.

Bekurs, G. (2007). Outstanding student housing in American community colleges: problems and
prospects. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 31, 621–636.

Callaway, R. (1979) Teachers’ Beliefs Concerning Values and the Functions and Purposes of Schooling,
Eric Document Reproduction Service No. ED 177110.

Fergusson, D.M., Horwood, L.J., & Boden, J.M. (2008). The transmission of social inequality:
Examination of inequality: Examination of the linkages between family socioeconomic status in
childhood and educational achievement in young adulthood. Research in Social Stratification and
Mobility, 26(3), 277-295.

Kozaei, F., Ayub, N., Hassan, A.S., & Kozaei, Z. (2010). The factors predicting students satisfaction with
university hostels, case study, university Sains Malaysia. Asian Culture and History, 2(2), 148-158.

Mimrot, B.H. (2012). A comparative study on the effect of residential area on the emotional intelligence
of the std.10 female students staying in hostel and in residence (home). Indian Stream Research Journal,
2(11), 1-4.

Mishra, A.N. (1994). Students and Hostel Life. New Delhi: Mittal publications.

Mohit, M. A., Ibrahim, M., & Rashid, Y. R. (2010). Assessment of residential satisfaction in newly
designed public low-cost housing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Habitat International, 34(1), 18-27.

Raju, T.G.M.S., Raju, M.V.R., Babu, B.P., & Rao, D.B. (2009). Personality and adjustment of university
hostel students. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House.

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Appendix

Questionnaire Form

An academic research questionnaire for

evaluating Hostels and their prospects in
Bangladesh.
Greetings and Hello dear good soul!
This is Meraj Hossain, an undergraduate student from the Department of Finance and Banking,
Jahangirnagar University. As a part of an academic research, I am conducting a sample research through
analyzing the responses of the questions in this questionnaire. The responses received from your filling up
this questionnaire will only be used for academic purposes and no sensitive information will be gathered
from here nor will any of your responses be ever exposed anywhere whatever be the medium.
Feel free to respond with your actual real life experience to assist me in ensuring a true scenario based
academic research paper.

Thanks in advance for your kind efforts!

* Required

Mail Address *

Your answer

Age range *
18-20
21-23
24-26
Other:

Current level of education *

1st year
2nd year
3rd year
4th year
Other:
Do you live in a hostel or have you lived in a hostel for considerable time?  *
Yes
No
Maybe

Type of Hostel *
Educational Institute Hostel
Private Hostel

Highest tenure of stay in hostel *

Your answer

Condition of satisfaction in hostel stayed or staying *

Highly Satisfied
Satisfied
Average
Below Average
Alarming

Factors which influence your satisfaction in hostel *

Your answer

Major reasons which you may think will be reason for your shifting of hostel *

Your answer

Presence of regular educational or guidance supervisions *

Always
Sometimes
Never

Presence of amenities and facilities in hostel living *

Highly Satisfactory
Satisfactory
Average
Not up to mark
Dissatisfactory

Would you refer your current hostel to anyone in future? *

Yes
No
Maybe

Any mentionable experience (if possible) to share from hostel.

Your answer

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