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Total Quality Management: A tool for school improvement
Abstract
The purpose of conducting this study was to determine if the application of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) philosophy, principles and tools would result in higher student satisfaction with classroom experiences in a grades 7-12 secondary school. An additional purpose was to determine if CQI School Improvement initiatives resulted in positive changes in the elements of school climate, curriculum development, instructional delivery and technology integration that were addressed in the initiatives. Four research questions were considered: (a) was there a difference in the overall level of student satisfaction after CQI interventions for school improvement were implemented; (b) was there a difference in school climate after CQI interventions; (c) was there a difference in the availability and integration of technology in the classroom; (d) was there a difference in the delivery of instruction under a learning outcomes curriculum? A qualitative case study methodology was adopted for the study. A school in rural Nebraska was selected and data were collected from surveys, analysis of school improvement data, and researcher observation. The context of the school improvement process was the application of Total Quality philosophy, principles and tools to address the needs of the school. This systematic process was monitored with a variety of data collection sources. The data included the following results: (1) Student satisfaction with classroom experiences improved slightly. Students felt that teachers were more interested in them as individuals, provided more variety of learning experiences and provided better materials. There was no change in their perceptions of the fairness demonstrated by teachers. (2) School climate was improved as well by the implementation of Behavior management system developed to meet the needs of the at risk student. Also contributing to more positive climate was the successful implementation of a pilot advisor-advisee system in grades 7-8. A third climate CQI initiative to improve climate was the successful redesign and implementation of the detention system. (3) A technology plan that had been created via the strategic planning process that preceded the School Improvement Plan was successfully implemented. A local area and wide area network was purchased and installed; a desktop computer was provided for each teacher and additional improvement in technology were made. The survey of student satisfaction results revealed that students recognized the improvement in access and instruction in the use of technology. (4) Finally, a process for developing learning outcomes based on best practice and research and accompanying benchmark assessments was developed for two core subject areas. Benchmark testing and preliminary standardized testing from data collected at selected grade levels revealed high student achievement in those subject areas.
Subject Area
School administration|Industrial engineering|Secondary education
Recommended Citation
Kilmer, Lloyd Carlyle, "Total Quality Management: A tool for school improvement" (1998). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9908475.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9908475