Professional development is an emerging view of faculty development that places teachers in charge of their own professional growth. The emergence of Total Quality Management (TQM) provides a vehicle for designing professional development to meet the needs of individuals and the organizations that employ them. The eight tenets of Deming's theory…

This paper defines Total Quality Management (TQM), discusses its origins, and identifies its strengths and weaknesses as they apply to higher education. The paper defines TQM as a philosophy of organizations that defines quality and improves organizational performance and administrative systems. The system originated from statistical quality…

This paper describes how Deming's theory of management can be applied to the educational process. Following an overview of Deming's theory, nine specific questions to ask any theory of education are posed. The differences between education and industry, as well as the differences between quality management and traditional educational approaches,…

Total Quality Management (TQM) has been proven successful in businesses worldwide for more than a decade. Educators, however, have been slow to apply the techniques to education. TQM can be used in higher education, particularly in schools of engineering and business administration. In TQM, the education of the student is considered the product…

A strategy for increasing worker participation in an effort to remedy the problems of declining productivity and quality is the quality circles concept. The quality circles process involves small groups of employees who meet voluntarily on a regular basis to identify, analyze, and develop solutions to problems and to implement the solutions when…

This book presents stories from teachers nationwide who tackled specific discipline challenges. Chapter 1, "Taking the Total Quality Road" (Judi Call, Beth Ziecheck, Janice Wright, and Kenneth Rigsby), discusses the use of Total Quality Management (TQM) in developing classroom management systems, explaining how Florida elementary…

This book presents two dominant and rival conceptions of quality in higher education. One is based on the expression of the tacit conceptions of value and propriety in the academic community. It is the character and quality of the continuing interactions of higher education's members that are at issue rather than any endpoint or definitive…

In many countries there have been major changes in the financial operations of the university. Change has occurred in the context of diminishing public resources, and this has translated, in most cases, into financial constraint within the university. This situation has led to pressure from the government, and from within the university itself in…

Introduces principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) and proposes incorporation of TQM within long-range planning efforts of gifted education programs. Principles such as involving all stakeholders, working for the long-term, and working systematically are applied in two sample charts organized around the goals of improving gifted…

The University of Missouri-St. Louis has discovered the value of continuous quality improvement methods in upgrading its core student-related administrative processes. As a result, it is increasing efficiency and personalizing a traditionally bureaucratic system of student service. Concurrent goals are to increase retention and decrease time to…

Reviews the debate over using Total Quality Management (TQM) in the college classroom. Argues that TQM can be effective if it is properly used. Discusses five phases for easing TQM implementation, and argues that most teachers already use some or all of the five phases when they teach. (AJL)

Describes a Total Quality Management training plan implemented at Wayne State University (WSU) that allowed the university's reference librarians to construct a cost-effective rotational cross-training program. This program was designed to improve reference referral service among WSU's five libraries. Participants concluded that the program was…

Certain cultural norms (high professional standards, collegiality, and questioning/experimenting attitudes) are common to self-renewing schools. To avoid the pitfalls of contrived collegiality, schools should adopt core or shared values, a common view of professional behavior, and a focus on the client. Two exemplary elementary schools in the…

To compete effectively, information brokers need to adopt management and marketing tools; Total Quality Management can upgrade an organization's performance by using customer feedback of its services. SERVQUAL identifies gaps in service by assessing quality expectations versus quality experiences. (AEF)

A professor at the Air Force Academy (Colorado) recounts that institution's 3 years of experience with total quality concepts. The model that guided initial quality education and training activities is described and evidence of progress reported. He concludes that the right kind of investment in quality is well worth the cost. (DB)