International Journal of Educational Management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed light upon the connections between quality management, employee health and organisational learning in a school setting.

Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a quantitative survey. Items measuring health status and values of quality management were included in a questionnaire addressed to teachers in a random sample of 20 schools. The items were checked for reliability with Cronbach's alpha tests and the correlation was measured with Pearson's correlation test.

Findings – The Cronbach's alpha tests showed that the reliability of all the indices measured was sufficient. Moreover, correlations were found between all the indices of quality management values and the health index. This indicates that the health status of the school employees is related to the level of adoption of the quality management values. A framework depicting the findings from an organisational learning perspective is proposed.

Research limitations/implications – The study strengthens the knowledge of the connections between quality management and health. The study was carried out in Sweden and the possibilities for generalising the findings to other countries are not certain. In addition, the relevance of the study for other organisations than schools remains unproven. A discussion regarding the possibilities of generalising the findings is included.

Practical implications – The findings and the proposed framework are helpful for improving school quality and employee health in schools.

Social implications – Improved school quality is important for society as a whole.

Originality/value – Previous research has indicated links between quality management and health in industrial manufacturing. This is the first study to explore this link in the school sector. Furthermore, the connections to organisational learning represent a novel approach.