Total quality management (TQM), a holistic approach to managing complex organizations, replaces top-down management with decentralized "customer-driven" decision making. TQM has been adopted by many schools and school systems nationwide. However, the context of public schooling makes implementation of TQM in education significantly…

The advent of advisory councils presents a promising opportunity for schools to maximize a largely untapped resource for increased educational effectiveness. This modular training guide, which supplements "Developing Quality Schools: A Handbook," shows practitioners how to set the context for and apply the consensus decision-making…

Total quality management is a business-oriented theory being applied to education as total quality learning (TQL). TQL lets students take responsibility for their learning; believes that everyone can learn; and makes students, teachers, parents, and administrators colleagues in learning. The paper describes one teacher's experiences with TQL. (SM)

Three models for college and university decision-making about scarce resources are outlined: (1) shared governance, (2) corporate management, and (3) total quality management. Two underlying principles of all the models are, first, that faculty are the heart of the institution and, second, that successful institutions are governed through the…

This report briefly introduces the ideas of six influential individuals in the field of quality control, and relates these concepts to current educational innovations. Quality is defined by Philip B. Crosby as the result of a culture of relationships within an organization. W. Edwards Deming espouses intrinsic motivation for all employees,…

This book provides a case study of the implementation of a quality improvement model to improve educational services at Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC), in Appleton, Wisconsin. Chapter 1 describes the early stages of the implementation of the quality processes at FVTC. Chapter 2 discusses the role of the chief administrator as mentor and…

This book contains 17 papers, chosen from those presented within the last 2 years at the annual National Conference on Creating the Quality School, hosted by the Center for the Study of Small/Rural Schools at the University of Oklahoma. The papers are grouped into three sections: leadership for school improvement; classroom practices for school…

This book is addressed to educators and work-place trainers interested in applying the Malcolm Baldrige award criteria and/or the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9000 training guidelines for program improvement. An initial section compares and contrasts the ISO standards and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award…

This book presents a wide array of sophisticated problem-solving tools and shows how to use them in a humanizing way that involves all stakeholders in the process. Chapter 1 develops the rationale for educational stakeholders to consider quality tools. Chapter 2 highlights three quality group-process tools--brainstorming, the nominal group…

This Total Quality Management (TQM) course was designed to introduce students to the principles and tools of TQM in a full-semester course in high schools or community colleges. The course includes all the competencies found in TQM and is intended to be taught with an interactive method in which students are involved in the learning process. This…

This booklet provides practical "how-to" information to federal employees on the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM). The booklet is intended primarily for program officials who have begun to think seriously about or have already begun a TQM effort and want guidance on the training effort to support it. Background information on TQM…

This module for a 1-semester Total Quality Management (TQM) course for high school or community college students covers the topics of benchmarking and the continuous improvement process. It includes the following components: (1) a narrative summary of the topics; (2) a discussion of benchmarking; (3) a benchmarking exercise (the "numbered ball"…

This module for a 1-semester Total Quality Management (TQM) course for high school or community college students contains a brief overview of the definition of processes, a section on process flow diagrams, and a section on process management as well as a description of process variation. Examples are used throughout the module to make processes…

This module for a 1-semester Total Quality Management (TQM) course for high school or community college students contains a brief overview of problem solving and offers a practical approach along with some of the tools that can be used. The following components are included: (1) narrative of the problem-solving process; (2) the problem-solving…

This module for a Total Quality Management (TQM) course was designed to give students a broad background in TQM and its influence on the business world in the United States. It can be used in a U.S. history class, an economics class, an English class, or as part of a TQM course for high school or community college students. The module covers the…