Identifying and Prioritizing Factors Influencing the Ranking of Schools in Iraq from Stakeholders’ Perspectives

Abstract

The present study identifies and prioritizes factors influencing the ranking of schools in Iraq’s education system from stakeholders’ perspectives. This research adopts a mixed-method approach involving various groups, including school principals, teachers, and members of parent-teacher associations. In the qualitative phase, factors influencing school rankings were identified through semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. The data were transformed into initial codes and basic themes, which were then categorized into organizing themes and one overarching theme. To validate the model, methods such as participant feedback and reviewing academic sources were employed. The reliability of the findings was confirmed through expert committee feedback and calculating the Content Validity Index (CVI) and Content Validity Ratio (CVR). In the quantitative phase, a questionnaire was developed and distributed among 282 individuals, including principals, teachers, and parent-teacher association members. Using a one-sample t-test, the agreement level of participants regarding the extracted factors was assessed. Finally, the factors were ranked using the Friedman test. Results revealed a total of 76 key themes grouped into 10 components: ergonomics, educational facilities and resources, educational services, human resource management, stakeholder satisfaction (students, parents, teachers, and principals), school management, and school outputs.