Relationship Between School Facilities Satisfaction and Academic Motivation Among Secondary School Students in Karak District

Abstract

School facilities form an important part of the physical and instructional environment in which secondary students learn, participate, develop academic confidence, and pursue educational goals. This study examined the relationship between students’ satisfaction with school facilities and their academic motivation in government secondary schools in District Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A quantitative, cross-sectional correlational design was employed within a positivist/post-positivist orientation. The population comprised 12,872 Grade 9 and Grade 10 students enrolled in 85 government high schools. A proportionate stratified random sample was drawn, and 371 complete questionnaires from 216 male and 155 female students were included in the final analysis. Data were collected using a researcher-developed 40-item School Facilities Satisfaction Questionnaire and a 25-item Academic Motivation Questionnaire, both using five-point Likert-type scales. Descriptive statistics and Pearson product–moment correlation were used. Overall school facilities satisfaction was moderate (M = 3.07, SD = 0.56), with classroom condition and space highest (M = 3.26, SD = 0.81) and electricity and technological facilities lowest (M = 2.89, SD = 0.82). Overall academic motivation was moderate (M = 3.43, SD = 0.57); academic aspiration was high (M = 3.77, SD = 0.79), whereas academic self-efficacy was lowest (M = 3.21, SD = 0.84). School facilities satisfaction was positively and significantly associated with academic motivation, r(369) = .513, p < .001, with approximately 26.3% shared variance. All eight facility dimensions were significantly positively associated with overall academic motivation, and overall facilities satisfaction was significantly related to all five motivation dimensions. The findings suggest that educational infrastructure should be considered in terms of functionality, accessibility, comfort, safety, maintenance, and students’ actual experience. Because the design is correlational and cross-sectional, the findings indicate association rather than causation.