For university teachers to successfully complete teaching assignments and further their professional development, their pedagogical competency is essential. Excellent university teachers must have a broad academic background and excellent disciplinary expertise, which allow them to offer students professional academic information and perspectives (Kunter et al., 2013; Guerriero, 2017). A teacher’s overall quality, including their professional knowledge and teaching skills, is reflected in their pedagogical competence. Demeshkant et al. (2022) found that university teachers’ pedagogical and technological knowledge was an important variable in evaluating teachers’ digital competences. So, developing and executing innovative and motivating teaching skills that pique students’ interest in learning is another aspect of pedagogical competency. Students’ satisfaction is directly impacted by a teacher’s material, tactics, level, and attitude (Jentsch and König, 2022). Teaching quality, topic richness, attitude, variety of approaches, and organization are all significant determinants of students’ satisfaction. Students’ satisfaction is also influenced by a teacher’s personality, language skills, expression style, and educational background (Wang et al., 2023). Therefore, raising teachers’ pedagogical competency as well as encouraging positive teaching attitudes and practices is essential to raising student satisfaction.

University teachers must also become experts in the rules of academic study and learn how to identify the best practices for academic work (van Dijk et al., 2023). Therefore, strong professional knowledge, effective teaching skills, and the capacity to create instructional activities that stimulate students’ interest in learning and help them meet learning objectives should be components of university teachers’ pedagogical competence (Tigelaar et al., 2004). Good pedagogical competency enables teachers to boost student engagement, enhance learning outcomes, and kindle students’ enthusiasm in learning. Enhancing teachers’ pedagogical proficiency not only improves learning results for students but also strengthens the bonds between teachers and students (Roorda et al., 2011). Therefore, our questions are: Does university teachers’ pedagogical competence (UTPC) positively affect students’ satisfaction (Hypothesis 1)? Does university teachers’ professional knowledge (UTPK), one important aspect of university teachers’ pedagogical competence, positively affect university students’ satisfaction (USS) (Hypothesis 1–1)? and if or not university teachers’ teaching skills (UTTS), another important aspect of university teachers’ pedagogical competence, positively affect university students’ satisfaction (Hypothesis 1–2)?

The term “learning experience” describes the whole set of experiences that students have while learning, encompassing their perceptions, feelings, thoughts, and actions. It includes their comprehension and proficiency of the subject matter being taught, their acceptance and assessment of the methods being used, and their opinions of the attitude and conduct of the instructor (Bouilheres et al., 2020). This experience is a representation of the students’ subjective perceptions of the educational activities that not only influence their learning environment but also impact their academic achievement. Zhang et al. (2025) reported that instructional strategy played a significant role in fostering college students’ critical thinking learning experience. One important element influencing how well university teachers teach their students is their pedagogical expertise. Pedagogical competency allows them to better arrange and convey the material they are teaching, which makes it easier for students to comprehend and retain the material, which enhances the learning process for all students (Forsler et al., 2024). Students’ motivation, attitude, and academic achievement are all directly impacted by this beneficial learning experience. Liao et al. (2023) systematic reviewed 51 empirical studies on non-university-based teacher educators’ professional learning, and found that a host of professional qualities were developed that enabled them to support preservice and in-service teachers’ growth through learning experiences. Students’ perceptions and attitudes toward university teachers are strongly influenced by their pedagogical proficiency (Amerstorfer and Freiin von Münster-Kistner, 2021; Sjöberg et al., 2024). Students typically have a more favorable opinion of professors who demonstrate high levels of pedagogical competency because they are respected and trusted by their peers (Zhao et al., 2022; Cook et al., 2024). Enhancing university teachers’ pedagogical proficiency not only contributes to the optimization of the learning process for students but also builds students’ favorable opinions of the teaching process, which raises the standard of instruction and advances the efficacy of education as a whole (Pratt et al., 2019). Therefore, we propose the following hypotheses: University teachers’ pedagogical competence (UTPC) positively influences university students’ learning experience (USLE) (H2); University teachers’ professional knowledge (UTPK) positively influences students’ learning experience (H2-1); University teachers’ teaching skills (UTTS) positively influence students’ learning experience (H2-2).

Learning experience, which includes students’ internal perceptions and emotional reactions to instructional activities, is a crucial determinant of the quality of instruction (Zerihun et al., 2012). In higher education, students serve as both a source of evaluation for the caliber of instructional quality and the course’s direct beneficiaries. Yang and Chen (2025) found that maker learning experiences of engineering college students majoring in mechanical engineering positively correlated to their satisfaction in China. Thus, a key element in raising satisfaction is the genuine student experience. The emotions experienced during the learning process as well as the assessment of the learning objectives are all part of the learning experience (Tan et al., 2021; Kuo et al., 2024). Mumpun et al. (2025) verified the positive impact of university students’ learning experiences in an environmental science project on their satisfaction. Learning outcomes and satisfaction are strongly influenced by the learning process and learning environment. Zhou and Shi (2021) pointed out that university students’ experience has a significant impact on academic performance, overall satisfaction, and learning gains. The aforementioned research indicates that boosting students’ self-efficacy and the learning environment can lead to a notable improvement in the quality of the learning process, which in turn improves teaching outcomes. In light of this, the current study hypothesizes: University students’ learning experience (USLE) positively influences their satisfaction (H3).

University student satisfaction is a crucial measure of the caliber of higher education, taking into account both the students’ educational experiences and the pedagogical proficiency of the teachers (Weerasinghe et al., 2017; Wong and Chapman, 2023). A teacher’s pedagogical competency encompasses not only their attitude, knowledge, and abilities, but also their ability to pique students’ interest in learning. Students who feel good about their experience are more likely to be satisfied with the course, and this is frequently linked to improved learning results (Weerasinghe et al., 2017; Wong and Chapman, 2023).

Students’ drive to study, enthusiasm in learning, and proactive learning attitude can all be greatly increased by a positive learning experience (Weerasinghe et al., 2017). Academic self-efficacy, course experience and course satisfaction are all significantly positively correlated, according to research. The study by Liu and Ma (2015) indicates that academic self-efficacy can not only directly improve course satisfaction but also indirectly enhance satisfaction through the mediating variable of course experience. Their results emphasize how crucial it is to raise students’ self-efficacy in order to raise their level of course satisfaction. The primary determinants of satisfaction are the caliber of students’ learning and the instructors’ degree of instruction (Ikram and Kenayathulla, 2022). The effectiveness of teaching can be raised by strengthening teachers’ instructional skills and raising the caliber of students’ learning (Lo et al., 2022). In the end, student happiness is influenced by both the experiences of students and the teaching skills of teachers. To clarify the impact of university students’ learning experiences on the relationship between university teachers’ pedagogical competence (including two aspects: professional knowledge and teaching skills), and students’ learning satisfaction, we propose the following hypotheses: University students’ learning experience plays a mediating role between teachers’ pedagogical competence and satisfaction (H4); University students’ learning experience plays a mediating role between teachers’ professional knowledge and students’ satisfaction (H4-1); University students’ learning experience plays a mediating role between teachers’ teaching skills and students’ satisfaction (H4-2).

Based on the above, the model diagram for this study is shown in Figure 1. This study’s framework will be the aforementioned theoretical model, which will be thoroughly examined to determine how students’ learning experiences and university teachers’ pedagogical competency affect their overall satisfaction. The objective is to offer academic underpinning and useful direction for raising teaching standards and student satisfaction.

This survey was randomly administered to undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Life Sciences, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, and College of Forestry at Nanjing Forestry University. The total number of students across the three colleges is about 3,800. Based on the Slovin’s Formula, with a required sampling error rate of no more than 5.0%, the minimum effective sample size should not be less than 362.

This study selected university teachers’ pedagogical competence (UTPC) as the independent variable, based on the report of Zhang (2020), which validated and applied this scale to analyze the teachers’ pedagogical competence in China. It included two dimensions: university teachers’ professional knowledge (UTPK) and university teachers’ teaching skills (UTTS). The number of items, dimensions and response scales was translated and listed in Supplementary Table 1.

The scale employed in this study, which uses university students’ learning experience (USLE) as a mediating variable, was validated and used by Huang et al. (2016) to assess students’ learning experience in China. This scale was translated and listed in Supplementary Table 1.

This research takes university students’ satisfaction (USS) as the dependent variable, with its scale based on the reports by Zhang (2022), and this scale has been validated and used in China in the report of Zhang (2022). This scale was translated and listed in Supplementary Table 1.

Procedure: The questionnaires were distributed by teachers during class for students to fill out anonymously. The implementation period was from March 2024 to June 2024, after which the questionnaires were collected.

All methods employed in this study were carried out in strict adherence to relevant guidelines and regulations. The research complied with local laws, and institutional requirements, and was approved by the Ethical Review Committee of Nanjing Forestry University.

A total of 580 questionnaires were collected, of which 569 were deemed valid, yielding an 87.5% validity rate. The software SPSS v25.0 was used for statistical analysis. The descriptive statistics of the mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis of the variable measurement items in the 569 valid questionnaires revealed that the absolute values of skewness and kurtosis are both less than 2, meeting the requirements for the Method of Moments of the U test. The standard deviations of kurtosis and skewness are 0.204 and 0.102, respectively, both of which are less than 0.500. The aforementioned information confirms that the variables in this model have a normal distribution and that the observed variables accept the hypotheses at a significance level of α = 0.05.

The questionnaire must go through reliability and validity testing to guarantee the validity of the survey results and the efficacy of the complete questionnaire design. Analysis of validity and reliability was done using SPSS v25.0. The findings show that the scale or questionnaire has good reliability because Cronbach’s alpha (α) is higher than 0.700. All of the variables included in this study’s dimensions have KMO values greater than 0.700, suggesting that the questionnaire has good validity (Table 1).

AMOS v23.0 software was used to process the data, yielding the AVE values and factor loadings for the items that corresponded to each variable. The findings demonstrated that all latent variables’ AVE values satisfied the condition of not being less than 0.500, suggesting that the questionnaire’s variable measurements appropriately capture the features of the latent constructs (Table 1). Clearly, the four constructs in this study satisfy the convergent validity test since they have significant convergence, a clear structure, and a suitable dimensional division. The reliability of the scales utilized in the questionnaire satisfied the necessary requirements, as evidenced by the composite reliability (CR) values, all of which were higher than 0.700 (Table 1). It is evident that each variable’s measurement items are appropriately chosen and adequate to satisfy the requirements for additional data analysis.

The data model underwent a fitting study using the AMOS v23.0 program. It investigates if the fitting outcomes of different observable structural characteristics are consistent with the previously developed model by contrasting important fitting markers. The test results of CMIN/DF and RMSEA were 4.655 and 0.080, respectively below the thresholds of 5.000 and 0.080 for reasonable fit, indicated that these indices were acceptable fit. Moreover, the test results of indices including NFI, IFI, TLI and CFI were 0.943, 0.955, 0.947, and 0.955, respectively, (> 0.900 = acceptable fit) shows that they all demonstrate an acceptable level of fit (Table 2). The structural equation model’s fitting results demonstrated that important fitting indicators, including CMIN/DF, GFI, NFI, and RMSEA, satisfied the necessary requirements, suggesting that the questionnaire design has strong structural validity (Table 2). The findings show that the suggested model’s overall goodness of fit satisfies the necessary standards, enabling the testing of the hypotheses put out in this study.

Using path analysis techniques in AMOS 23.0 software, the direct effects of students’ learning experiences and university professors’ pedagogical competency on satisfaction were examined in order to support the hypotheses. To further explore the significance of learning experiences in the teaching process, the mediating role of learning experiences between the pedagogical competence and satisfaction of university professors was also measured.