An empirical study for determining the quality indicators for the primary and secondary school of Bangladesh: A structural equation modeling approach

Abstract

Primary and secondary school quality indicators need to be defined, assessed, and monitored due to their incomparable contributions to the entire educational process as well as for the overall development of a country. However, previous studies rarely emphasized indicators that have a substantial impact on school quality, especially in the context of developing countries. Bangladesh is one of them where this has yet to be adequately studied. To bridge this gap, this study aimed to explore the key “driver” constructs of primary and secondary level school quality. Adopting a quantitative cross-sectional research design, the present study was conducted between April 2021 to January 2022 at 128 primary and secondary level schools in 38 different districts of Bangladesh. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Empirical findings revealed that teacher quality (β = 0.588, t = 12.242, p < 0.001), technology (β = 0.279, t = 5.402, p < 0.001), school leadership (β = 0.132, t = 2.383, p < 0.05) have positive influence on students' academic achievement which ultimately affects (β = 0.923, t = 92.713, p < 0.001) the overall quality of the school. While school environment does not significantly influence students’ academic achievement or school quality. The overall findings of this study are expected to assist the devolved authorities in implementing synchronized policies for the improvement of primary and secondary level school quality.