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  <front>
    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">cndcgs</journal-id>
      <journal-title-group>
        <journal-title>Challenges to national defence in contemporary geopolitical situation</journal-title>
      </journal-title-group>
      <issn pub-type="epub">2538-8959</issn>
      <issn pub-type="ppub">2669-2023</issn>
      <publisher>
        <publisher-name>LKA</publisher-name>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">94_BEKESIENE</article-id>
      <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.47459/cndcgs.2026.94</article-id>
      <article-categories>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
          <subject>Article</subject>
        </subj-group>
      </article-categories>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>Expectations versus Reality: Students' Perceptions of Educational Service Quality in the Aviation Program at War Studies University and Career Implications</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>BEKESIENE</surname>
            <given-names>Svajone</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="j_cndcgs_aff_000"/>
        </contrib>
        <aff id="j_cndcgs_aff_000">General Jonas Žemaitis Miltitary Academy of Lithuania, Vilnius</aff>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>WILCZYŃSKA-STRAWA</surname>
            <given-names>Agnieszka</given-names>
          </name>
          <email xlink:href="mailto:a.strawa@akademia.mil.pl">a.strawa@akademia.mil.pl</email>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="j_cndcgs_aff_001"/>
          <xref ref-type="corresp" rid="cor2">∗∗</xref>
        </contrib>
        <aff id="j_cndcgs_aff_001">War Studies University, Poland</aff>
      </contrib-group>
      <author-notes>
        <corresp id="cor2"><label>∗∗</label>Corresponding author.</corresp>
      </author-notes>
      <volume>2026</volume>
      <issue>1</issue>
      <fpage>831</fpage>
      <lpage>838</lpage>
      <pub-date pub-type="epub">
        <day>13</day>
        <month>07</month>
        <year>2026</year>
      </pub-date>
      <permissions>
        <license license-type="open-access">
          <license-p>Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY)</license-p>
        </license>
      </permissions>
      <abstract>
        <p>Staff shortages are a global problem in the aviation sector. Women constitute an underutilized talent pool for air transport. The aim of the study was to assess the gap between expectations and reality of the educational offerings of the Aviation program at the War Studies University in the context of preparing students for entering the aviation labour market from the perspective of the respondents' gender. The SERVQUAL method was used. Female students perceived a greater discrepancy between their expectations of their studies and their practical experience, although these differences were generally small. A significantly greater disparity was noted in the evaluation of the Aviation program and its content directly applicable to the aviation labour market. This research was conducted as a pilot study.</p>
      </abstract>
      <kwd-group>
        <label>Keywords</label>
        <kwd>educational service quality</kwd>
        <kwd>higher education Poland</kwd>
        <kwd>student expectations and perceptions</kwd>
        <kwd>gender</kwd>
        <kwd>SERVQUAL method</kwd>
      </kwd-group>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
</article>
