Identifying and Analyzing Internal and External Organizational Factors Affecting the Development of Problem-Solving Skills in Upper Secondary Students of Lorestan Province
Keywords:
Problem-solving skills, SWOT analysis, internal organizational factors, external organizational factors, education, Lorestan ProvinceAbstract
This study aimed to identify and analyze internal and external organizational factors affecting the development of problem-solving skills among upper secondary students in Lorestan Province using the SWOT analytical model. This qualitative, applied, and exploratory study involved 36 experts and specialists in educational sciences and educational management from Lorestan universities, from whom 14 participants were selected via purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was reached. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Member checks, peer reviews, and expert participation ensured validity, while reliability was assessed via recoding. The extracted codes were then validated through a three-round Delphi process and analyzed using Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. The analysis initially identified 231 codes, which were reduced to 182 and finally to 90 validated codes through the three Delphi rounds. These codes were categorized into 45 internal organizational factors (25 strengths and 20 weaknesses) and 45 external organizational factors (24 opportunities and 21 threats). The Kendall’s coefficient reached 0.785 (p < .001) in the third round, indicating high agreement among experts. The resulting SWOT matrix highlighted that enhancing problem-solving skills requires simultaneously strengthening strengths and opportunities while mitigating weaknesses and threats. The study developed a comprehensive SWOT-based model indicating that the development of problem-solving skills among students requires simultaneous focus on internal organizational components—such as teaching quality, teacher–student interaction, and curriculum content—and external organizational components—such as family involvement, social culture, and economic and technological support. Implementing this model can provide an effective strategy to improve problem-solving skills in the educational system of Lorestan Province.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Ali Minaee (Author); Zahra Tanha; Reziyeh Jalili (Author)
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