Teaching Quality–Driven Transformative Learning: A Narrative Review and Conceptual Framework for Enhancing Student Satisfaction in Chinese Private Universities

Background: The growing emphasis on teaching quality in higher education has intensified interest in understanding its role in shaping students’ learning experiences, particularly within Chinese private universities. Alongside teaching quality, student satisfaction and critical reflection are increasingly recognized as essential indicators of effective teaching and meaningful learning. However, the relationships among these constructs remain insufficiently examined in the context of China’s private higher education sector. Purpose and methods: This study aims to explore the relationships among teaching quality, critical reflection, and student satisfaction, identify key influencing factors, and develop a conceptual framework grounded in existing literature. This research adopted a four-step method aiming to define the research scope, synthesize relevant literature, identify core constructs, and propose a conceptual framework. Results: The synthesis of the included studies indicates that teaching quality—including teaching content, teaching methods, teaching conditions, and teaching management—functions as a foundational determinant of student satisfaction. The findings further suggest that critical reflection operates as a central mediating mechanism through which instructional quality translates into meaningful evaluative outcomes. Additionally, gender and disciplinary major appear to condition the strength of these relationships. Conclusion: By integrating the Teaching Quality Model with Transformative Learning Theory, the proposed framework advances understanding of student satisfaction beyond linear instructional effects and emphasizes cognitive transformation as a key explanatory process. The model provides a theoretically grounded basis for future empirical validation and offers practical guidance for private universities seeking to enhance student satisfaction through reflective, student-centered pedagogical strategies rather than solely procedural improvements.