High-quality care in the earliest years of life has been shown to relate to positive developmental outcomes for children, including improved early academic skills, social-emotional competencies, and cognitive functioning. Unfortunately, the early care experiences of many children are not always high quality; rather, research suggests that…

One college faculty member's experiences in applying Deming management theory to his business courses to improve instruction are discussed. Key issues in the Deming philosophy are outlined, course changes based on them are described, and outcomes are examined. Suggestions are offered for overcoming institutional and ideological barriers. (MSE)

This response of the University of Florida College of Dentistry to the Institute of Medicine's 1995 report concerning the present status and future needs of dental education stresses implications of eroding state funding for higher education. It notes use of the IOM report in the university's reorganization of the predoctoral curriculum as well as…

Examines practical applications for the suitability of two different approaches to quality management within engineering education. One utilizes quality systems standards as typified by a specific industrial process that ensures an effective production system. The other applies the notion of total quality management emphasizing a process of…

In introductory physics courses at the Pennsylvania State University, student preparation outside class was inadequate to meet course needs. The plan-do-check-act cycle of the Total Quality Management approach was successfully used in this situation to evaluate instructional changes and help balance increased student assignments with increased…

The total quality movement began as a result of the desire of W. Edwards Deming, an American statistician, to permit the economic system to maintain its edge in a growing global market. The 14 points Deming listed as essential to "total quality management" have recently been adapted to the field of education. The success of the total…

This volume contains 17 articles on the emergence and potential of "Quality Improvement" (QI) efforts in higher education. Quality Improvement is defined as continuous improvement of processes in a cycle of plan (administration of instructional processes), do/check (assess), act (on the assessment and then continue to), plan-do-check-act. The…

The 38 conference papers in this volume were chosen to exemplify different definitions of, and approaches to, quality, as they are applied in a wide range of educational and training contexts. The papers are: "Designing Organisations That Learn" (D. J. Dicks); "Quality Assurance in a European Context" (D. Alexander, J. Morgan);…

The Oregon Advanced Technology Consortium (OATC) created the Partnerships for Quality Project (PQP) to improve Oregon's community colleges by developing a total quality curriculum (TQC) based on the beliefs and practices of total quality management (TQM). This report summarizes the recommendations of the PQP and presents a plan of action for the…

The nature of changes occurring in professional degree programs, resulting from environmental factors such as societal change, competition, and advancing technology, is examined. Focus is on accounting and engineering at the baccalaureate level, business and law at the graduate level. Application of Total Quality Management to curriculum…

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 book applies the concepts of curriculum development and management, with curriculum defined as the collectivity of paper defining work, to a wide range of organizations, especially social service organizations, schools, and colleges. After an introductory chapter defining basic concepts, Chapters 1 through 7 cover: curriculum management as it…