MANAGEMENT IN EDUCATION – A QUALITATIVE ASPECT

Kavindra Singh

PGT (Business Studies), Khalsa Mont. Sr. Sec. School, Bulandshahr, (UP), 203001
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Abstract

According to Jan D. Timmer ―quality is a state of mind…the relentless pursuit of excellence, of

never being satisfied with what you do, how you do it and how quickly you do it. There is always
room for improvement. Everything can always be done better. Quality should be a part of our
soul. Quality is perceived differently by different people. Quality is not something that is
bestowed by others; it is attained and maintained as a result of ceaseless efforts. Quality makes
education as much socially relevant as it is personally indispensible to the individuals. In this
sense quality becomes the defining element of education. In this context, quality and excellence
should be the vision of every higher education institution including teacher education.
Acquisition of quality and excellence is the great challenge faced by all higher education
institutions.

Keywords: quality, quality management, total quality management, educational system

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Introduction
Good quality education is one that provides all learners with capabilities they require to become
economically productive develop sustainable livelihoods, contribute to peaceful and democratic
societies and enhance individual well-being. The learning outcomes that are required vary
according to context but at the end of the basic education cycle must include threshold levels of
literacy and numeracy, basic scientific knowledge and life skills including awareness and
prevention of disease. Capacity development to improve the quality of teachers and other
education stakeholders is crucial throughout this process.

Educational reforms depend largely on the quality of teachers, which in turn, depends on the
quality of teacher education. The national policy on education and the Program of Action (1992)
emphasizes revamping of education program for bringing qualitative improvement in teacher
education. 'Quality', conveys difference in worth, in relation to what is common. If something
has quality, it is perceived as being less accessible than a variant of the same object, which lacks
quality. Quality is most often defined 'fitness for purpose' related to the needs of the
user/customer, which indicates that quality depends upon a subject's view of what is the purpose
of that phenomenon.

Quality Management in Education

Quality has become a defining element of education in the 21st century in the context of new
social realities. The information communication revolution, the knowledge economy and
globalization are greatly influencing the next society. How to provide quality education to large
numbers at affordable costs is the primary concern of developing countries. Quality makes
education as much socially relevant as it is personally indispensible to the individuals. In this
sense quality becomes the defining element of education. In this context, quality and excellence
should be the vision of every higher education institution including teacher education.
Acquisition of quality and excellence is the great challenge faced by all higher education
institutions.

Quality Management in Teacher Education

Applied to the field of Teacher Education, quality refers to the totality of features and
characteristics of the student teacher acquired as a result of the teachers education programs. If
the expectations of the schools, students, parents and the society are met that indicates that the
right type of teachers have been prepared by the teacher education institutions. And if the
teachers continue to improve themselves then there is value addition in education (Feigenbaum,
1951). Such teachers will continue to meet the needs of the society. There is fitness of
educational outcome and experience for use (Juran and Gryna 1988). There will be defect
avoidance in education process (Crosby 1979) of teachers in a quality teacher education
institution. In any educational institution there are three aspects to be managed-academic,
administrative and financial. Besides these there are the human and physical resources to be
managed to their optimum level. In other words management of input-process-product is of
utmost concern of the system of teacher education. If every component is of good quality then
the final product i.e. the teacher will be perceived as fulfilling the needs of the consumers.

In the words of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, “If a country is to be corruption free and become a
nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can
make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher”.

Quality has become the defining element of education in the 21st Century in the context of new
social realities. Acquisition of quality and excellence is the great challenge faced by all teacher
education institutions. It is not surprising, that teacher education institutions have very often
failed to provide quality teacher education. In terms of the professional preparation that is
offered, a teacher education institution could be wholly out of phase with the needs and
aspirations of the schools. It can be said that the existence of an institution shall depend upon the
quality of education and training offered. Now principle of Darwin holds well even today that
fittest that would survive. The existing Teacher education is mainly large area to meet the
student's needs. Now there is the need to make it as per the demand for teachers in modern era of
Information and communication Technology, because in future fittest will survive for which
quality education will be the key aspect.

Total Quality Management – A Management approach

Total Quality Management TQM, also known as total productive maintenance, describes a
management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction. In a TQM effort, all
members of an organization participate in improving processes, products, services, and the
culture in which they work.
Total quality management can be summarized as a management system for a customer-focused
organization that involves all employees in continual improvement.

Total Quality Management in Education

The concept of TQM is applicable to academics. Many educators believe that the concept of
TQM provides guiding principles for needed educational reform. In his article, “The Quality
Revolution in Education,” John Jay Bonstingl outlines the TQM principles he believes are most
salient to education reform. He calls them the “Four Pillars of Total Quality Management.”
1: Synergistic Relationships
According to this principle, an organization must focus, first and foremost, on its suppliers and
customers. In a TQM organization, everyone is both a customer and supplier; this confusing
concept emphasizes “the systematic nature of the work in which all are involved”. In other
words, teamwork and collaboration are essential. Traditionally, education has been prone to
individual and departmental isolation. However, according to Bonstingl, this outdated practice no
longer serves us: “When I close the classroom door, those kids are mine!” is a notion too narrow
to survive in a world in which teamwork and collaboration result in high-quality benefits for the
greatest number of people. The very application of the first pillar of TQM to education
emphasizes the synergistic relationship between the “suppliers” and “customers”. The concept of
synergy suggests that performance and production is enhanced by pooling the talent and
experience of individuals.
In a classroom, teacher-student teams are the equivalent of industry’s front-line workers. The
product of their successful work together is the development of the student’s capabilities,
interests, and character. In one sense, the student is the teacher’s customer, as the recipient of
educational services provided for the student’s growth and improvement. Viewed in this way, the
teacher and the school are suppliers of effective learning tools, environments, and systems to the
student, who is the school’s primary customer. The school is responsible for providing for the
long-term educational welfare of students by teaching them how to learn and communicate in
high-quality ways, how to access quality in their own work and in that of others, and how to
invest in their own lifelong and life-wide learning processes by maximizing opportunities for
growth in every aspect of daily life. In another sense, the student is also a worker, whose product
is essentially his or her own continuous improvement and personal growth.
2: Continuous Improvement and Self Evaluation
The second pillar of TQM applied to education is the total dedication to continuous
improvement, personally and collectively. Within a Total Quality school setting, administrators
work collaboratively with their customers: teachers. Gone are the vestiges of “Scientific
management”… whose watchwords were compliance, control and command. The foundations
for this system were fear, intimidation, and an adversarial approach to problem-solving. Today it
is in our best interest to encourage everyone’s potential by dedicating ourselves to the continual
improvement of our own abilities and those of the people with whom we work and live. Total
Quality is, essentially, a win-win approach which works to everyone’s ultimate advantage.
According to Deming, no human being should ever evaluate another human being. Therefore,
TQM emphasizes self-evaluation as part of a continuous improvement process. In addition, this
principle also laminates to the focusing on students’ strengths, individual learning styles, and
different types of intelligences.
3: A System of Ongoing Process
The third pillar of TQM as applied in academics is the recognition of the organization as a
system and the work done within the organization must be seen as an ongoing process. The
primary implication of this principle is that individual students and teachers are less to blame for
failure than the system in which they work. Quality speaks to working on the system, which must
be examined to identify and eliminate the flawed processes that allow its participants to fail.
Since systems are made up of processes, the improvements made in the quality of those
processes largely determine the quality of the resulting product. In the new paradigm of learning,
continual improvement of learning processes based on learning outcomes replaces the outdated
“teach and test” mode.
4: Leadership
The fourth TQM principle applied to education is that the success of TQM is the responsibility of
top management. The school teachers must establish the context in which students can best
achieve their potential through the continuous improvement that results from teachers and
students working together. Teachers who emphasize content area literacy and principle-centered
teaching provide the leadership, framework, and tools necessary for continuous improvement in
the learning process.
According to the practical evidences, the TQM principles help the schools in following clauses:
(a) Redefine the role, purpose and responsibilities of schools.
(b)Improve schools as a “way of life.”
(c) Plan comprehensive leadership training for educators at all levels.
(d) Create staff development that addresses the attitudes and beliefs of school staff.
(e) Use research and practice-based information to guide both policy and practice.
(f) Design comprehensive child-development initiatives that cut across a variety of
agencies and institutions.
In order to achieve the above as opportunities to the academic scenario, in addition to patience,
participatory management among well-trained and educated partners is crucial to the success of
TQM in education; everyone involved must understand and believe in principles. Some
personnel who are committed to the principles can facilitate success with TQM. Their vision and
skills in leadership, management, interpersonal communication, problem solving and creative
cooperation are important qualities for successful implementation of TQM.
Conclusion
Quality in teacher education can be indicated by the educatedness of the products of the
institution i.e. the student teachers. Quality teachers are indicated by their ‘educatedness’ that
they have achieved through their education and training. The teachers are well informed and
possess knowledge about facts figures, concepts in their subjects. They are cultured and possess
integrated personality which is warm, empathetic and ethical. One level ahead of being cultured
is emancipation wherein teachers are individuals who rise above the known artificial boundaries
of religion, caste, creed, gender, linguistic and geographic belongingness, social mores, cultural
traditions and forms and treat their students fairly. Finally, teachers should achieve the best of
potential already in them. However, if the following questions are answered by the educational
institutions in general they will be able to achieve quality.

1. What key outcomes have we achieved?

2. How well do we meet the needs of our stakeholders?
3. How good is our delivery of education processes?
4. How good is our management?
5. How good is our leadership?
6. What is our capacity for improvement?
Reference

1. NCTE (1998) competency based and commitment oriented, teacher education for quality
college education, New Delhi NCTE
2. http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/total-quality-management/overview/overview.html

3. Journal of Educational Chronicle, Vol. 3, No. 2, December, 2012

4. www.teindia.nic.in/