Implementing TQM in Education
Simon Elliott
Implementing TQM in Education
Simon Elliott
CAES Planning For School Development
Task 3: Presentation
Implementing TQM in Education
Simon Elliott
25th November 1999
Introduction
It could be said that;
If your organization does not already operate TQM (Total Quality Management) you won’t understand it and if it does operate TQM then you definitely won’t understand it.
Adams (1998)
A more positive view on the role of Quality comes from writers such as Pirsig who commented that Quality was, and had to be, central to everything that we do. In order to know when Quality is happening, we have to understand our perceptions of what it is before we can place it at the centre of all that we do;
Quality is not a thing, it is an event....Quality is not something that you can lay on top of subjects and objects like tinsel on a Christmas tree, real Quality must be the source of the subjects and objects, the cone from which the tree must start.
Pirsig
In order to teach effectively, there must be an understanding of how to build Quality into each lesson from the outset. TQM represents the continuous development of Quality Management throughout an organization. It requires leadership rather than management and is not, as I shall discuss, a top-down technique for management and monitoring staff performance.
The rationale behind this presentation is to introduce the concept of TQM clearly in order to set the quest for Quality in schools within a context of organizational change. The current vogue for data-gathering, target-setting and performance measuring can may be seen as mere bureaucracy without an appreciation of where these components can take a school if utilised as part of a bigger change.
The structure of the presentation will consist of four clear sections in order to take the audience through the stages of thought leading to an effective implementation of TQM within a school or other educational context. The sections are:-
ｷIntroduction – setting the scene
ｷUnderstanding the Origins of TQM in the Industrial Context
ｷFrom Industry to Education – TQM in Transition
ｷPractical Examples of TQM Approaches to Education
Each section is given as a written handout of notes for the audience to investigate later, together with a bibliography of suggested reading for those wishing to take TQM further. Key points from each section, including important quotations, are used as slides to elucidate further discussion ad emphasise key tenets of TQM.
Finally there is an evaluation of the presentation of these materials and ideas to the group both from the point of view of the author but also, assisted by questionnaires, the views of the listeners in terms of how the presentation extended their knowledge, involved them in the material. This also includes and how the presenter succeeded in their delivery and how they could improve if delivering the material again.
Understanding the Origins of TQM in the Industrial Context
Deming, Crosby and Juran are thought of as being among the founders of TQM. Its conception and evolution came about as a rejection of Taylorism which led to the development of the “them-and-us” model of labour relations in America and Western Europe. (Taylor’s theory of Scientific Management is often referred to as Theory X) It stressed the importance of hierarchies and the responsibilities of Management resulting often in the alienation of the workforce.
Taylor (1947b) said that the theory of Scientific Management depended upon uniformity of the workforce with the avoidance of individual target setting and training to be replaced by corporate goals and development programmes {the move from individual practitioners to organizational systems}. This has a disturbing similarity to the National Curriculum as described by the OECD in 1995.
Deming came along with a methodology of practice based upon the premise that almost all people wish to succeed in their work and so places the role of ensuring Quality on the individual worker as a part of a Quality-seeking whole. Harling sums this up as;
TQM…must permeate the whole organization to succeed in exceeding the requirements of the customer.
How is the move towards Quality to be approached? Deming says that the education and re-education of the workforce is central to its achievement and, in the end must be paid for. The key to all, according to Deming, is statistical analysis of the process to understand where Quality may not be occurring to the required standard. At first this may look like inspection but it is not. It is a bottom-up approach to monitoring;
How will we achieve Quality? not Did we achieve Quality?
Crosby and Juran followed on from Deming but emphasised the rejection of normal assumptions that some degree of failure is inevitable. Crosby, especially, noted that in the service sector, including education, as much as 40% of the budget was spent in solving problems created by the system itself. Examples include repeating work for customers where the first attempt has not met Quality criteria.
Juran points to the need for in-built Quality planning at the heart of the organization and that the person who operates the process is best placed to judge its Quality, not managers disconnected from the process.
Out of these developments in new-thought, conclusions were drawn about the way that organizations could improve through radical change, and TQM is radical if applied properly. They can be summarised as;
The effectiveness of people relies on an effective system supporting them.
Systems must be stable before steps within the system can be improved.
Self-evaluation is the only method of truly leading to effective change, not inspection.
Continuous improvement can only come through openness to learning.
TQM relies on systems and organizations, without either it will fail.
The majority of people want to enjoy their job and be successful at it.
It is through these changes in organizational thought-processes that TQM began to break industry away from the dehumanising approach of followers of Taylor’s theories. For further reading on Taylorism, an excellent summary of the Scientific Management theory in Pugh and Hickson. It is apparent that the result of Taylor’s ideals were to produce top-heavy, uncaring organizations overburdened with inspection and where the workforce were often reduced to the levels of products or components. However, when this summary is read, it is clear that there were some valid goals contained within the whole even if they were often omitted from any implementation.
From Industry to Education – TQM in Transition
The first impression schools have is that TQM is a process for industry and not for education. Harling identified that the key to implementation in a school was information for staff on how it applied to their jobs.
One example that Deming gives us is of the waste of resources which occur when, in an organization, individuals or departments strive for Quality and improvement, each developing systems to achieve it without reference to each other or the whole – there is a direct correlation between this example from industry and the approach found within many secondary schools where GCSE targets are focussed on departmental goals and not whole school goals (especially sensitive during the time for students to select between option choices).
Schools often latch onto one common result of misguided interpretations of TQM – the Mission Statement – without fully understanding its implications (and often, as we saw earlier, merely generating instant cynicism). They often tend to be Headteachers’ own personal missions and not those of the staff and can be poorly thought out, leading either to an impression of arrogance or lack of focus. We shall see later that the true implementation of TQM is through the Vision Statement and not the Mission Statement.
So how can TQM be properly translated into the educational context? Tribus offers some useful advice
Developing TQM in education requires Leadership, not Management
We shall look at this further but it is important to understand the distinction between co-ordination of resources and tasks to achieve a goal in a timely manner (Management) and the ability to inspire ad motivate others with visionary conviction (Leadership).
TQM in education, as elsewhere, must be a holistic approach to the organization taking into account all stakeholders and influences in the process – teacher training, parental participation, school administration, evaluation, student participation, the needs of business and industry, etc.
TQM demands facts before action. Education is a process with long-range goals often set years into the future. It requires clear vision of the objectives and philosophy, which underpins whatever the current favoured methodology. It calls for the identification of client, product and process, often resulting in a complex process analysis;
For example, it is said that the Client in education should be centred on the student but others would argue that it includes parents, future employers and, ultimately, society. However many of these often ignore, or even deny, their role in the process. Students are also co-workers in the process along with all personnel who find themselves impacting on its running or success. Lastly, the product is the education given to the student and not the student themselves.
Tribus summarises with the seven points of educational TQM;
Define achievements by reference to the purposes of education and not just teaching.
Processes come before Organization – Form follows function.
Improve processes early – monitoring output is too late.
Involve all participants in the management process.
Understand the whole process:
How does it work?
What does it do?
How well are we doing it?
Optimize the system and not components of the system.
Fix the system, don’t fix the blame.
TQM is a continuum, it is not itself a process (You cannot put a TQM plaque on the wall)
Ashcroft writes extensively on the transition of TQM to education but one of the most revealing points is one that is quoted from Oakland;
Each part of an organization has customers, whether within or without, whose needs must to be identified. Meeting or exceeding those needs forms the core of a Total Quality approach.
In other words, what is the purpose of education within schools and how can it be achieved. Some would say that it is to engender a desire for learning, others would suggest that it is to pass on the content of the National Curriculum. Schools have to try and satisfy both.
Deming, unsurprisingly, has a fairly TQM-centric view of the future for those n the service sectors who don’t adopt this approach;
You don’t have to do this, Survival is not compulsory!
There is no doubting that TQM has made radical changes in industry throughout the world but it requires effort to make it succeed in the transition to education however, as Ashcroft discusses, a deeper look reveals some striking similarities. TQM is a people-centric, value-focussed approach to business. This is also true for education.
Just as in industry, TQM in schools is dependent on managers (or should that be leaders?) identifying key performance indicators as measures of progress (the use of progress and not achievement is vital as TQM is a constant search for improvement). Teachers set aims and objectives and these sit well with the TQM principles of values and planning. Its success depends upon significant statistical and strategic analysis leading to thorough planning before implementation.
Central to TQM is the concept that the individuals closest to the particular customer are best equipped to initiate change. If one replaces individuals with teachers and customer with students then this fits well with education. The teacher in the classroom is the only individual in the process who can either enable or hinder learning taking place. Others can only facilitate the process. Teachers are the real leaders of performance and therefore the role of continually monitoring progress and Quality falls to them. Schools that gather and analyse data centrally, away from the ownership of the teacher, to monitor the Quality of the process are missing the point.
Research by Murgatroyd and Morgan has shown that, with careful adaptation, it is possible to incorporate key concepts of TQM into schools leading to beneficial change. Ashcroft agrees with this but warns of the importance of clarity amongst managers on these careful adaptations if staff resentment to “yet another system” is to be avoided.
Careful modification of organizational structure is also needed. Schools tend to be very “top-down” in their hierarchical approach. The TQM school realises that the inverted pyramid is essential – customer first, and radically changes the approach to its hierarchy, if not the hierarchy itself. The management levels need to make the transition to being pro-active visionary leaders who challenge the status-quo and thus mission statements make the move of maturity into vision statements.
Targets for staff need to be process-oriented and medium-term set within the context of a long-term vision in the school as a whole. They need to be supported which, if the role of Quality monitoring falls largely to the practitioner, managers have more time to do. It is a curious fact that within the education system, teachers get promoted because they are skilled practitioners and then get less contact time in the classroom as their reward. The skilled practitioner in the TQM school should be allowed to spend the extra “free” time sharing good practice rather than paper-pushing.
As has been said, one of the central tenets is that of strategic statistical analysis. This could be seen as the combination of many approaches to achieve the six levels of Quality Management;
Collect Data{benchmarking, sampling, etc.}
Convert to measures{Histograms, scatter-graphs, etc.}
Analyse the Process{Regression lines, Process Mapping, etc.}
Improve the Process{Brainstorming, Cause-Effect Analysis, etc.}
Set Standards{Check-sheets, Systematic Diagrams, etc.}
Manage Performance{Control Charts, Sampling, etc.}
This begins, in education, in the classroom. Teachers have been carrying out this role for years. The difference that TQM makes is that it sets a coordination of purpose. Too often in schools, the first of the above six stages is left to the teacher and the latter five taken away by the senior managers. In TQM Schools, the individual teacher with reference to the organization and its overall Quality Process performs all six stages.
The need for this holistic vision, demanded by TQM, can often explain the failure of schemes such as Investors in People in schools where they are attempted before the school (as in the community of staff) accepts the challenge of transformation to the TQM models of management and organisation.
Schools must, as TQM suggests, seek to define themselves within the context of the customer-supplier chain developing closer relations with parents, students, community, LEA and ultimately their place within any national strategies. They need to appreciate the cost of poor Quality (children failing to achieve their potential) contrasted against the cost of getting it right first time.
This need to discuss the assessment of Quality within a group or non-isolated context was observed long ago by Kant who pointed out that the definition of Quality cannot be performed solely by the person who is also assessing whether it has occurred. He points out that our (aesthetic) judgement of Quality is distorted by our personal constructs of what Quality is.
To finish the look at the transition of TQM to education, we must look to a negotiated definition of what Quality is and how schools might use this as focus for the implementation of a Total Quality Management approach in out schools.
How can TQM be Implemented in the school?
Some Practical Ideas.
Example 1: The House of Quality
(Murgatroyd)
Look at all activities within the school as sets of expectations that have to be met. Process-mapping allows us to quantify this. Take the example of the induction of a new teacher into the school;
a.Begin by looking at who this induction process is for – the new teacher, their colleagues, their students and any support or advisory service used.
b.Next look at what triggers this process – the job advert. Does this help the school to attract the people who will fit into the ethos of the school?
c.What happens next? – in this example, the teacher is interviewed and employed under a set of expectations that the school has for that role.
d.Steps b. and c. are repeated until the process cycle time is calculated and potential error points in the process highlighted. The customers are then consulted on the overall quality of the process.
We now have measures by which to audit the process and identify weak links. Change can then be initiated. Data gathering is central to this process.
Examples of processes which can benefit from this analysis include time-tabling, implementing a new curriculum model, marketing the school etc.
Example 2: Hoshin Planning
(Murgatroyd)
A Hoshin goal is one that challenges an organization to go beyond what it thinks possible.
This process begins with all teams within an organization discussing what they imagine they could achieve if;
a.More time was available
b.Fewer mistakes were made
c.More things were achieved on time
d.There was more people-time available
e.New ideas could be tested and implemented more quickly
The organization then looks at what is said in response to the above criteria and defines what ideas are present, what barriers are perceived to better working and how committed the teams were.
A Hoshin team is then formed by each team selecting a representative who is committed to TQM to join a cross-team group. The group then reviews all ideas collected, defines three or four “outrageous” goals and over the following five weeks gains commitment to these goals amongst staff. They should really be “outrageous” but have true value for the school if only they could be achieved.
The final goal-set is defined in terms of their contribution to the overall Vision and Strategy of the organization, to Teaching and Learning and how they enhance the overall well-being of the organization. The goals themselves will be non-negotiable, once set, however the individual teams are empowered by setting action-plans for their own achievement methodology.
Success depends upon continual and detailed progress monitoring, sharing of good-practice and bad-practice in an organizational setting and the reinforcement of the shared-vision.
Example 3: Listening to the Voice of the Customer
(Schauerman et al.)
The principle of all TQM planning is that the organization must take into account the experiences and opinions of the customer / client when optimizing a process. Take the following example;
In a GCSE Science programme of study, students are taught in modules with each module covering a particular concept-set that is not largely revisited until the end of the course. Each module is tested at the end by a variety of question-types set within a formal test.
The approach above identifies a failed process (students obtaining a low class-average score in the end of unit test) only after the process has been completed. There is rarely sufficient space in the curriculum timetable to allow the topic to be gone through again and thus the students are reliant on the revision time at the end to succeed in understanding the work before the exam. This is not an efficient system!
A TQM approach would be to give the test to the students at the start of the topic as a set of learning objectives with investigative-style questioning, as well as sample exam questions, and collect it in at the end. Students could therefore use the test as a method for continually evaluating their learning (“After today’s lesson you should be able to answer questions 2 and 3”) as well as the teacher collecting the finished work in at the end as evidence of the student’s progress. A high pass-mark could be set with students failing to meet it the first time being expected to put in extra study to better their score.
This is an empowering approach, not only as it says to the students “you can identify successful learning for yourself” but also it frees the teacher from teaching to the test (where student marks are assessed departmentally) and gives space for more enrichment to the programme content.
Example 4: The Cost of (Low) Quality
(Greenwood & Gaunt)
Identification of failure costs within the school is essential. The overall cost of Qualiy will drop but only with process management. The first step is to carry out a failure cost audit. Do inappropriate resources, faulty equipment or bad planning waste staff time when looking at; Meetings, INSET Days, Inappropriate Textbooks, Under-utilised Resources, Stationery Usage, Parent’s Evenings, Photocopying, Reworking and Rectification, Re-inspection and Time-tabling.
In each section, identify areas of current failure or waste and their implication;
e.g. Teachers working with inappropriate textbooks will often spend many hours developing word-processed worksheets for photocopying. This has a real cost beyond the price of appropriate materials.
Instigate planning to remove the sources of inefficiency and then put the savings into staff training and other prevention costs.
Example 5: Getting it Right First Time
(Everard and Morris)
One possible way of implementing a part of the TQM approach is to adopt “getting it right first time”. Invest in preparation and not correction and concentrate on the process and not the result.
As no level of product defect is acceptable under TQM, we must look to the process, fixing the problem before it has occurred rather than after the event. Inspection is too late!
Take the example of paperwork in schools. Many policy documents are knee-jerk reactions to events. Instead of having to suffer a failed school-trip, create effective process-analysis to scrutinise school-trip planning and identify areas of possible problem, eliminating them from the start.
Another area of inefficiency in schools is the appointment of new staff as described in another example. Analyse the school’s process for staff induction to give staff the information that they require rather than them having to ask. This does not mean thicker staff handbooks but better ones!
Example 6: OA5 Organizational Theory
(Adams (1996))
Organizational effectiveness comes out of an atmosphere of lifelong learning. To achieve this, there are seven principles;
1.Support requests for training, even if not directly job related.
2.Share your own knowledge freely and ask others to do the same, ideally in small digestible chunks.
3.Make trade magazines and newspapers available.
4.Keep employees in current computer hardware and software with Internet connections.
5.Support experimentation, even when you are sure it is doomed.
6.Make “teaching” part of all employees’ job descriptions and reward those who are good communicators of useful information to others.
7.Understand fully the hierarchy of employee needs;
Example 7: Beyond TQM.
(Davies & West-Burnham)
TQM is an evolutionary process that adds value to existing systems encompassing the whole organization, supported by Management Information Systems. Reengineering takes TQM further.
Reengineering can be seen as nothing less than revolutionary in its approach, challenging the core business processes, using ICT as an enabler.
To begin reengineering, look at the school as a process;
Reengineering says “how do we get from A to B and what is the most efficient way of getting there?” All components within the process are up for grabs and nothing is sacred! Traditional departmental identities may not be necessary as efficient curriculum mapping eliminates duplication and omittances. The focus must always be on the bigger picture.
This approach, if fully implemented, would take a confident and open school to attempt.
Evaluation of the Presentation
Originally the slides were designed to be delivered as OHT’s however I was asked to deliver a projected PowerPoint presentation to examine the medium and discuss its effectiveness as well as its possible drawbacks. This caused problems as time that I had planned to use for rehearsing timings was spent in designing the PowerPoint show.
The following is a summary of the views of the audience together with my thoughts;
The extent to which the presentation extended the knowledge of the audience
I had no knowledge of TQM – it raises issues about Investors in People. Made me think about how much more can be done in schools.
Although I am involved in the monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning, I had not fully thought through the need for the quality to be at the root of the process.
My knowledge was extended about the TQM approach from the start of the process and not the end.
..a new area to me … it is something that perhaps in the future I can apply.
A complete introduction to the topic for me.
Really helped me to see the effect of TQM in the day to day running of the school.
Related to my current situation … stimulated my thinking.
Although I ran over the time allocated for the presentation I considered that the material was presented well. I had used my knowledge of the use of Information Systems in managing Quality to focus my thoughts on this area however it was only when I began research into the materials that I realised the vast amount of research into TQM in education and not just in Industry. This led to difficulty in delivering an in-depth coverage of the material in the time given.
Involvement of the audience
Opportunity … to ask questions … were answered well. Good knowledge of the topic.
Easy to relate to own situation…answered questions and comments with confidence.
Answered questions fully … responded with clarity and enthusiasm.
Good response to questions asked. Obviously well read and knowledgeable about topic.
As I have already said, I had to read through a wide range of materials in order to be able to give a thorough but concise overview of the topic. This meant that I was able to answer questions that involved interpretation the of TQM to specific situations. I was also helped by my particular interest in the writings of Robert Pirsig who explains the role of Quality in a particularly clear way and which fired my interest in the topic.
Overview of the quality of presentation
Liked the use of case studies … an interesting and very good presentation.
Very confident and did not rush … fully prepared.
Very confident delivery and use of new technology.
Good non-verbal communication and good variety. Presented well with PowerPoint.
Tone of voice showed interest in topic. Good pace allowed thought of the material. Technology very good.
Excellent handouts and sheets. Good pace and variety. Very relaxed and at ease.
Good pace, tone, eye contact and confident with topic.
Keeping to the allocated time would have made it punchier as would saving the handout to the end.
The pace of the presentation was too slow at the start leading to a more rushed pace at the end however it was already inevitable that the time allocation was going to be exceeded. I was happy with the overall quality of the content and my confidence in it’s delivery even though the use of PowerPoint was not envisaged from the start.
Summary
I am happy with my delivery of this topic and feel that I was able to get the message over in a clear manner. The handouts were in-depth and well researched allowing anybody interested in knowing more to easily source more material. More rehearsing was required to deliver the material with more consistent pace in order not to overrun the time allocation.
TQM in education can, I believe, deliver radical improvement in the management of Quality at classroom, department and school level but requires visionary leadership and staff commitment to succeed.
Bibliography
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Adams, S (1998) Dogbert’s Top Secret Management Handbook New York: Harper Collins
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Crosby, P.B. (1990) Leading: The Art of Becoming an Executive USA: McGraw Hill
Deming, W.E. (1982a) Out of the Crisis Cambridge: University of Cambridge
Deming, W.E. (1982b) Quality, Productivity and the Competitive Person Massachusetts: MIT
Espezel, M. (1999) A Study of the Influences and Development of Quality Control Systems Within the Junior School and how Heads Currently Control Quality in their Schools University of Southampton: S.U.Ed.Diss.1999
Everard, K.B. Morris, G. (1996) Effective School Management 3rd Ed. London: Paul Chapman Publishing
Greenwood, M.S. Gaunt, H.J. (1994) Total Quality Management for Schools London: Cassell
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University Press
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