Priorities in Croatian School Building Maintenance: A Comparison of the Main Stakeholders’ Views

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the opinions of the main recognized stakeholders in the maintenance of school buildings (i.e., the construction experts within the founders’ organization, the school staff, and the students), compare their views on the maintenance priorities, and identify certain differences. These data provide information about user needs, can help school founders make maintenance decisions, and are the basis for developing a new, balanced system of maintenance priorities. In the research, the survey questionnaire method was used to collect the data, whereby three groups of stakeholders evaluated the priority of eliminating certain defects in school buildings on a 5-point scale. For the purposes of the questionnaire, a model of 32 defects of the school buildings was created. In the questionnaire, 76 experts, 338 school staff, and 297 students participated. The research is limited to the Republic of Croatia. By conducting non-parametric statistical tests (Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney), it was shown that there were statistically significant differences in the stakeholders’ attitudes towards most maintenance priorities. There were also defects where statistically significant differences were not recognized, namely, regarding faulty lighting fixtures, faulty toilets, faulty sinks, faulty space cooling systems, faulty space heating systems, and faulty hot water heating systems. According to the experts, it is most urgent to remove faulty electrical installations, while according to the school staff, the highest priority is faulty sewage installations. The students believe that the priority is faulty toilets. The lowest priority is removing damage to the external environment (experts) and the facade (school staff and students).