Total quality management in education: problems and issues for the classroom teacher
International Journal of Educational Management
ISSN: 0951-354X
Article publication date: 1 April 1999
Abstract
Total quality management (TQM), a management philosophy developed for industrial purposes, is now attracting increasing attention in the field of education. Different interpretations of TQM in industry, however, may result in contrasting outcomes when TQM is applied in schools. Briefly reviews how TQM operates in the industrial context and clarifies how the philosophy of TQM may be translated into the context of education. Examines one inter‐pretation of TQM which aims at improving the quality of the production system in order to produce a quality product with “zero defects”. This may lead to a teaching and learning process which focusses exclusively on achieving good examination results. This is contrasted with a second interpretation of TQM as a never‐ending cycle of improvement in the system of production. In the context of education, this may lead to continually improving the quality of instruction in order to encourage students to become critical and creative thinkers in a fast‐changing technological world.
Keywords
Citation
Crawford, L.E.D. and Shutler, P. (1999), "Total quality management in education: problems and issues for the classroom teacher", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 67-73. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513549910261122
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited