The relationship between the physical condition of school buildings and job satisfaction

This research aims to determine the relationship between the physical conditions of school buildings and job satisfaction as perceived by teachers working in public Anatolian high schools. The study was conducted using the descriptive and correlation survey models, which are quantitative research approaches. The study population comprises 2169 teachers employed in official Anatolian high schools (excluding vocational and technical schools) in the central districts of Diyarbakır (Sur, Yenişehir, Kayapınar, Bağlar) during the 2021-2022 academic year. The sample consists of 27 official Anatolian Schools randomly selected, with a total of 358 teachers working in these schools. As data collection instruments, the "School Building Scale" developed by Çağlayan and Yılmaz (2011) and the "Job Satisfaction Scale" developed by Gündüz (2008) were used in the study. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, median), independent sample t-test, Mann Whitney U test, one-way analysis of variance, Kruskal Wallis test, correlation, and regression analysis. Some important findings of the research can be listed as follows: (1) The teachers' perceptions of the physical conditions of school buildings were generally at a "partially sufficient" level. In terms of dimensions, it was found that teachers' perceptions of the areas allocated for students are at an "insufficient" level, while perceptions of the general appearance of schools are at a "quite sufficient" level. (2) While no significant difference was found in teachers' perceptions of the physical conditions of school buildings based on their marital status and school size, the significant differences were identified based on their educational status, genders, and professional tenure. (3) The teachers perceive their job satisfaction as a "moderate" level and it was found that teachers have the highest satisfaction with the dimensions of individual factors, whereas their least satisfaction was found in the dimensions of organizational climate, working conditions, and social appearance. (4) The teachers' perceptions of job satisfaction levels do not vary significantly by their educational status, marital status, professional tenure, and school size; however, a significant difference was found between their genders. (5) A statistically significant positive mid-level relationship was found between teacher's perceptions of the physical conditions of their school and job satisfaction (r = .624; p<.001). Furthermore, the physical conditions of school buildings explain 38.8 % of teacher's job satisfaction levels. Keywords: School buildings, physical condition of school buildings, job satisfaction.