Total Quality Management in Schools
Education quality is becoming increasingly important for those who are involved in it either directly or indirectly, and for those who use its services. Access to education and quality education are to be regarded as mutually dependent and indivisible needs and rights. Quality management is a part of management aimed at achieving quality goals through planning, monitoring, assuring and improving quality. Involving all members of the organisation brings us closer to total quality control (Total Quality Management, TQM). Efficient Total quality management system in organisation can facilitate quickly challenge in word market. Total quality management realise target and mission in education of young generation. TQM upgrade management quality and quality of work in education institute in general. The key points for the improvement of education are technological development, social changes and organisational changes. Education efficiency and success don’t depend just on quantity but as well on quality. The quality indicator system of education, as well as the criteria related to the quality indicators help schools to identify the crucial areas of their activities - their own advantages, disadvantages and development opportunities. Quality must be consciously managed in order to satisfy quality demands. Quality management is "an integral part of management, whose role is to reach quality objectives, which are reflected not just in providing but also in improving quality. This is achieved by managing the activities derived from the established quality policies and plans, and is carried out within the quality system, using, among other things, the appropriate quality monitoring plan.” The efficient management of an organisation is achieved by using different models. One of them is quality management system. By quality management system we understand "structure, procedures, processes and other necessary resources required for the application of quality management." The concept of total quality, introduced by Professor W. Edwards Deming in the 1950s, can be applied to almost every organisation up to all levels. The term stands for the process of shifting the focus of the organisation towards a superior quality of products and services. TQM approach in education involves not only achieving high quality but also influencing all segments of the educational process: academics, organisation, management, material and staff, etc. Applying the approach described above quality becomes total (integral). The introduction of total quality management requires a number of changes in educational institutions. The first changes have to occur in the attitudes and activities of the management, in the organisation and monitoring of the educational process, in the evaluation of its results, in the culture of communication, in the school atmosphere, and especially in the area of interpersonal relations. The total quality management model includes the following: process planning, process management, continual improvement, total involvement and individualised focus on the student. Total quality management is an efficient management technique that requires the full involvement of all staff on all organisational levels, thus representing the organisational culture. TQM stands for a way of life of the organisation, which introduces constant improvement on all levels and activities, creating the appropriate environment through collaborative work, trust and respect. It approaches the processes in a systematic, consistent and organised way and applies total quality management techniques. TQM is all about quality management of the users, leadership and management loyalty, continuous improvement, prompt response, actions based on facts, the participation of employees in the TQM culture. If an organisation is constantly willing to direct its efforts towards academic improvements and operational improvements, the principles presented above can lead to excellence in quality. The success of total quality management depends on its eight components: ethics, integrity, trust, education, teamwork, leadership, recognisability and communication. Indicators of quality in education: The system of indicators of quality in education, as well as the quality criteria associated with the indicators, help schools to point out the important areas of their own activities - their own advantages and disadvantages and development opportunities. School quality team can debate about representation and development of particular indicator aspect and search for method for upgrade and meliorate indicator representation in specify school circumstances. The indicators are grouped into seven areas with specific topics: 1. Curriculum - structure of the curriculum (program/goals, tasks, focus on development of functional tasks, focus on students’ activities, integration of programs within and between areas) - courses and programs - key competences that students develop in the given school 2. Achievements (evaluated by external, independent agencies) - achievement quality compared with the set goals 3. Learning and teaching - teachers’ work - students’ work and experience - meeting the needs of the students - monitoring and evaluating the work of students and teachers 4. Students’ support - students’ personal, social and spiritual growth - progress and achievement monitoring - support in all aspects of learning, progress, students’ and teachers’ personal development 5. School ethos - school policy - school atmosphere and relations - specific goals of each individual school - orientation towards students’, teachers’ and parents’ satisfaction 6. Resources - school resources - teachers, professional associates, the principal; their education, teachers teamwork, cooperation; being open to innovation - material resources and premises - efficient human and material resources 7. Management, leadership and quality assurance - approaches to leadership and management By providing high quality educational services, educational institutions play an important role in the development of the national economy, of the society as a whole and of its individual members. Total quality can only be achieved by establishing an innovative organisation, one that is flexible, which can adjust quickly to changes in its environment and is capable of learning
