An Analysis of Factors Influencing Students’ Motivational Gap in Public and Private Schools through the Lens of Educational Justice
Keywords:
Motivational gap, educational justice, public schools, private schools, academic motivation, thematic analysis, TehranAbstract
This study aimed to explain the factors contributing to the formation and persistence of the motivational gap among students in public and private schools in Tehran, with an emphasis on educational justice. This qualitative study employed thematic analysis. The participants consisted of 24 students, teachers, school counselors, and principals from public and private schools in Tehran, selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and continued until theoretical saturation was reached. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo software. The analysis followed the stages of familiarization with the data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the final report. To enhance trustworthiness, member checking, peer debriefing, analytic memo writing, and an audit trail were used. The analysis yielded four main themes: inequality in learning resources and opportunities, perceived school justice or injustice, family-cultural capital and future educational horizons, and the quality of teachers’ motivational support and school culture. The findings indicated that students’ motivational gap is not merely a result of individual differences; rather, it is shaped by unequal access to educational resources, family expectations, student–teacher relationships, counseling services, psychological safety, participatory opportunities, and social comparison between public and private schools. Students’ motivational gap is a multidimensional and structurally embedded phenomenon reproduced at individual, familial, school, and policy levels. Reducing this gap requires moving beyond a narrow performance-oriented approach toward educational justice, equitable distribution of resources, strengthened psycho-educational support, teacher empowerment, and policies aimed at reducing class-based segregation in students’ school experiences.
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