Architectural Design and Educational Psychology: A CABE-Based Analysis of Secondary School Environments in Turkey

Abstract This study presents the first systematic application of Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) standards to Turkish secondary school environments, analyzing 12 public schools in Gaziantep through expert site evaluations and administrator surveys. Schools were assessed on organization, resources, safety, and successful whole dimensions using a 3-point scale, with Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) employed to identify distinct design patterns. Results revealed significant variation across CABE dimensions. Organization performed highest, particularly in movement paths, while resources, especially ventilation, required improvement. Most schools demonstrated adequate safety standards. The successful whole dimension showed greatest variation, indicating different alignments between design and user objectives. LPA identified four distinct school profiles: Resource-Constrained Balanced Schools, Well-Structured Safe Schools, Safety-Prioritized Challenged School, and High-Achieving Resource-Efficient Schools. These profiles illuminate the complex interaction between architectural features and educational settings. Notably, High-Achieving Resource-Efficient Schools demonstrated exceptional performance despite resource limitations, challenging conventional assumptions about infrastructure-effectiveness relationships. The study contributes methodologically by integrating CABE criteria with LPA for comprehensive school environment assessment, and empirically by establishing baseline performance profiles for Turkish secondary schools. Findings suggest targeted improvements based on school-specific profiles could enhance learning environments more effectively than uniform interventions. This research provides foundational evidence for policy development and future investigations examining causal relationships between architectural design and educational outcomes.