Considerable dimensions that influence academic achievement have received the attention of researchers and educational actors. In this regard, learning environment, school infrastructure, and other related features have been acknowledged as organizational arrangements within an institution that encourage better teacher-student connections, better school climates, and better working environments for teachers and learning environments for students (Aladejana & Aderibigbe, 2007; Holzberger et al., 2020). School systems and structures that build efforts to create the conditions for improved teaching and learning outcomes are perceived as systems that add value to aspects of education in general and learning experiences and achievement in specific. School-level initiatives resulting from its organizational structure, leadership, and collaboration, provide learning opportunities that are a characteristic of the school and affect learning in schools and classrooms both directly and indirectly. Based on existing research findings, student success is thought to be highly influenced by school characteristics (Ahmad et al., 2013; Grajcevci & Shala, 2021). Opportunities for teaching and learning are strongly related to the school structure and its organization, hence when operationalizing the basic construct of school characteristics few general areas in which student opportunities for learning frequently occur were identified: school physical infrastructure, school leadership, assessment, pedagogical dimension and professional development, extracurricular activities, and parental involvement (Pehmer, Gröschner & Seidel, 2015; Reparaz & Sotés-Elizalde 2019). PISA's global results examined factors of the learning environment that have a direct impact on learning as well (Beese & Liang, 2010; Lau & Lam, 2017). With this in mind, school characteristics have emerged as a significant determinant not just in interpreting PISA scores but also in developing new educational strategies (Topçu, Arıkan & Erbilgin, 2015). Kosovo participated in PISA for the first time in 2015, with 4,826 students. (OECD, 2016). If referring to PISA results in Kosovo in 2015, they indicate the lowest achievement compared to other participating countries. Referring to PISA results in Kosovo, it could be noted that Kosovo is one of the three worst-performing countries according to PISA scores. The national averages are much lower than the OECD average Kosovo is also far worse than Albania and Macedonia compared to region countries (Grajcevci & Shala, 2021). Furthermore, the 2018 study shows a decline in students' science achievement, necessitating an early response to investigate causes and suggest areas for improvement (Shala, Grajcevci, & Latifi, 2021).  

When considering school capacities, teachers' efforts in the classroom and students' self-efficacy and awareness, confirmations of previous study results, as well as new information from empirical studies in this regard, shed light on impacting and predicted factors to explore further for student achievement in PISA According to previous research, the amount of intervention required in these factors related to school characteristics and systems to create meaningful changes in student performance may be rather slight (Wang & Liou, 2017).  Furthermore, studies suggest that a relatively small additional investment of effort and time by school leaders and teachers on these specific issues related to school characteristics could yield some very promising results, particularly in terms of improving levels of competence in students who fall below the basic competency threshold (Alivernini & Manganelli, 2015; Kiemer, et al., 2015).

This study explores: what common school characteristics are associated with science literacy of Kosovar students in PISA 2015, and which of the underlying features within the school characteristics could be attributed mostly to science literacy. Furthermore, implications with students ‘achievement in science will be scrutinized. 

This study implies a descriptive correlational design, and it intends to present a description and analysis of relevant factors within the school questionnaire constructs reported by school principals in PISA assessment 2015 in Kosovo, where the science was the main focus of the assessment. Descriptive analysis, correlation, and regression analysis on school level will be conducted using the IEA IDB Analyzer. PISA database (OECD) was used focusing on the variables administered Kosovo. 224 school principals have participated in PISA 2015 assessment, where a School Questionnaire was administered and perceptions and attitudes on several dimensions related to their schools were expressed by school principals. Specific dimensions which were chosen as important characteristics of effective school, such as: school background and infrastructure, organization and leading of the school, pedagogical aspects and extra-curricular activities were analyzed. Limitations: Because not all dimensions of the school questionnaire were measured in Kosovo’s context related to PISA assessment, the results and findings cannot be generalized and compared with other practices and should be carefully studied for further recommendations. As a result, suggestions for additional research in future that include other related variables would enable a holistic approach and highlight elements that impact the responsiveness on better learning outcomes. These suggestions for future directions should be considered in formulating policies in the context of quality improvement in education.

Results indicate that school infrastructure, resources, support for scientific inquiry, extracurricular activities, teaching practices and professional development could be associated with the lowest science performance in Kosovo comparing to different countries. Results can support the information of policymakers, researchers, and teachers on how Kosovo’s schools and underlying factors within the school leadership can be supported to improve science literacy. The findings are likely to add to the increasing frame of knowledge about the learning environment and features of school characteristics, particularly in light of the numerous challenges and disadvantages which Kosovan education system face. Data analysis reveals that significant areas of school infrastructure (science laboratories, learning environments) still require improvement. The physical characteristics of scientific resources have to to be improved to come across the criteria of teaching methodology and the demands of teachers and students. Furthermore, to provide opportunities for students to study and cooperate along acquainting adequate skills and knowledge, instructional teaching components should be applied in science teaching. Infrastructure of the school and psychological and social dimensions should not be underestimated as they are considered important and substantive factors for teaching and learning. If teachers' needs for professional development and adequate working conditions are fulfilled, and acquaintance to the most up-to-date teaching methodologies, such as inquiry-based teaching and learning is enhanced, teachers may be able to effectively teach science. Furthermore, the evidence acquired in this study may be utilized by teachers and school principals as an added value to undertake measures to tackle the most sensitive aspects that hinder the quality in learning process and education broadly.

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