The Relationship between Level of Total Quality Management (TQM ...

corporations, service organizations, universities, and schoolscan apply TQM principles [6]. Deming [7] pointed out thoseTQM principles that are utilized in industry can be used ineducational institutions and the process of education toimprove outcome and performance. The purpose of theeducation system and schools is to increase the number ofstudents who can fulfill or go beyond the proficiency levelsof academic achievement and prove themselves highlyskillful and competitive in high technology in the modernworld [8]. This needs a change in the schools and educationsystem and to bring about this change they should focus onstudents need to be successful in today’s and future world[9]. So schools must improve the structure and culture of theschool itself [10].To achieve these goals, school must improve the Cultureof Teaching and Learning (COTL) as a first step and thenapply some quality improvement model like Total QualityManagement (TQM). In this way efficiency andeffectiveness of the school can be enhanced [11]. In thisresearch COTL refers to the values, norms, behaviors,climate and attitudes of teachers, principals, and studentstowards teaching and learning. The most important conceptin COTL is culture. Culture change within an organization iscreated by a number of factors, including behaviors basedon people interactions, norms, resulting from teams andindividuals, dominants values by the organization and theclimate of the organization [12]. In the context of education,culture refers to behavior based on educators (teachers andprincipals) and students interaction, norms and criteriaresulting from team work, individuals’ dominant values,educators and learners attitudes towards teaching andlearning and provisions of services. These attitudes involvethe spirit of devotion and commitment in and to a school’sculture, which develops through the combined efforts ofschool management and leadership.TQM has attracted the interest of many theorists andpractitioners such as DeCosmo, Parker and Heverly [13],Ewell [14], Sherr and Lozier [15], Bonser [16], Tribus [17],Brigham [18], and Rhodes [19], and later they worked onapplicability of TQM theories in the educational area.These scholars also explained that educational institutionshave applied TQM for a lot of reasons that industries andbusinesses have instituted quality programs. According tothis Cunningham [11] suggested that TQM models must beredesigned in order to fit the educational goals in schools.Walpole and Noeth [20], pointed out that applying TQM ineducation system can improve the performance of schoolsespecially improving teaching and learning quality. Toachieve these goals, researchers search the notion of TQMin terms of its philosophy, principles, culture andimplementation of TQM in school. Some scholars such asKumar, Choisne, Grosbois and Uma Kumar [21] pointed outthat the principles of TQM could be used as a means forboosting students’ morale, raising productivity, saving time,empowering people at all levels, enhancing moral ofeducators, and providing higher quality services toIRACST- International Journal of Research in Management & Technology (IJRMT), ISSN: 2249-9563Vol. 2, No. 3, June 2012customers. In other words, by applying TQM principles,improvement in quality helps to diminish waste and raiseproductivity hence keeping costs low and raising studentsatisfaction. Also, the COTL will be increased by applyingTQM in education.320Iranian education system like other education systemswas also looking for methods and strategies to improve itsquality and to keep up with the world standards [22].Despite great efforts to change the school-oriented system tostudent-oriented one as a general goal, the schoolperformance particularly the quality of COTL, could notimprove as expected [23]. Now the top executives in theeducation system of Iran believe in changing the presentstructure and, improving COTL is the key for improvingschool performance [24]. So educators are looking for asolution to solve the mentioned educational problems [11]and a model or models to improve the school structure orculture so as to improve the quality of education in Iran.Kamali [25] in his studies presented that some of the TQMprinciples have been applied in the education system of Iranlike new teaching techniques, emphasis on pre-serviceteacher training, in-service training for teachers andprincipals, upgrading classes with the world facilities,improving evaluation methods, employing team and groupwork in class, paying attention to teachers knowledge andmotivation, and organizing parents association. But theinfluence of all these points (improvements) has not beenexplicitly specified, the present researcher could find verylittle literature focusing on the application of this model indifferent databases such as Pro-Quest, and Emerald,especially in the province of Lorestan (researchpopulation), Iran. Therefore, this area is still in needs offurther research. Hence, the present study tries to identifylevel of TQM and Level of COTL implementation inschools, and investigate the relationship between these twovariables. To achieve this goal, one general hypothesis andtwo detailed hypotheses were stated as follows:General Hypothesis: there is a statistically significantrelationship between the level of TQM and the level ofCOTL in school.Hypothesis one: there is a statistically significantrelationship between the level of TQM and the level ofCOTL based on principals’ view in school.Hypothesis two: there is a statistically significantrelationship between the level of TQM and the level ofCOTL based on teachers’ view in school.