Total quality in teaching and school effectiveness as tools of Administration of Education

International Journal of Business and Management Invention
ISSN (Online): 2319 – 8028, ISSN (Print): 2319 – 801X
www.ijbmi.org || Volume 5 Issue 2 || February. 2016 || PP-68-78
www.ijbmi.org 68 | Page
Total quality in teaching and school effectiveness as tools of
Administration of Education
Dr Vasiliki Brinia
Athens University of Economics and Business
Abstract: School effectiveness is a different approach to achieve quality in the organization and administration
of education. The quality of teaching in classrooms is inextricably linked to the effectiveness of the school unit,
as teaching directly affects one of the most important interest groups in education: students. The quality of
learning is influenced both by school environment and the activities in which student are involved. The purpose
of this research is to investigate the opinion of students on teaching and on the school culture. This opinion can
be used in order to create the appropriate school climate with a view to achieving quality in the organization
and in the administration of the school unit. This research is original and innovative as it correlates the views of
students with the implementation of total quality management (TQM) in the school unit.
Keywords: teaching quality, school effectiveness, school climate, culture, total quality management.
I. Introduction
Quality evolves constantly in the recent years. This evolvement cannot be attributed to one person or a group of
people. Over the years, the implementation of management's strategies led to the current era of quality in order
to satisfy the needs and desires of the people (Brinia, 2008).
In education, the concept of quality is difficult to be defined because of the different views on its purpose, its
objectives and the social and political functions. According to many, the perception of quality is relative and
multifactorial. Additionally, education is facing increasing that are institutional but also philosophical, as it tries
to adapt to the data of modern society (Giannias, 2014). Nevertheless, it is necessary to apply the principles of
TQM in the school unit in order to achieve the expected school results.
Teaching and its quality plays an important role in cognitive and emotional development of students
(Kyriakides, 2009) and is derived by the educational policy of the school unit (Porter, 1988; Teddlie, 2000).
Therefore, the quality of teaching is an indicator of school effectiveness. Research on school effectiveness (SER
-School Effectiveness Research) has developed a specific methodology based on criteria which demonstrate the
effectiveness of an educational organization. One of the criteria is the quality of teaching. Specifically, this
research assesses the teaching practices of school and their interconnection with school effectiveness. The
parameters that determine the quality of teaching (teaching methods, teaching tools, time management,
differentiation of methods, use of information technologies and media, interpersonal relations, student
involvement in the learning process, etc.) were evaluated, good practices were found and problems and
weaknesses were identified.
II. Literature review
The Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management style which aims at improving the effectiveness,
efficiency and competitiveness of an organization as a whole (Lock, 1997). In education, the concept of TQM is
considered as a philosophy, a set of principles that form the basis of continuous improvement and includes the
application of qualitative methods. It uses and develops with the human resources with a view to effective and
qualitative services (Zavlanos, 1998).
It is necessary to separate the term of effectiveness from efficiency, which are often, confused. Effectiveness is
the ability of someone to bring the expected result, while efficiency means the ability and capacity to produce
sufficient work in order to make profit or gain (Mpampiniotis, 1998). Regarding the concept of effectiveness in
schools, it is a measure of success with weighted criteria, especially when schools demonstrate the response of
students' needs, combining the objectives and the curriculum (Pamouktsoglou, 2001). It is essentially an overall
measure of satisfaction of social needs, through school success. School effectiveness needs cooperation and
harmony among all the stakeholders that form the school community, but the important role is played by the
principal of each school unit (Siapka, 2011). Therefore, the school pricipal should be the key factor of
effectiveness and functionality (Brinia, 2014).

Total quality in teaching and school effectiveness as tools
School serves as the main means to provide knowledge and develop skills, but it remains restricted to traditional
standards. However, in recent years there is a general reflection on whether school can overcome its
conservative character and cope with the social changes, in order to be effective (Brinia, 2008). Many people
have been involved in identifying the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of a school unit (Edmonds,
1979; Mortimore, 1991; Andreadakis, 2009; Pasiardi, 2001). According to the holistic model of educational
effectiveness, the effectiveness of the educational system is a function of the following factors: the strong
management of the school, school climate that guarantees the learning progress, high expectations for student
performance, the focus on teaching and learning, the clearly defined framework for the assessment of student
performance, openness of the school in society and the provision of a separate budget to each school unit
(Zogopoulos, 2011).
The role of the principal is important for the normal and effective operation of the school unit (Brinia, 2014).
The principal is the person who bears the main responsibility for the development and promotion of democracy
in school. He/she should ensure the existence of the basic conditions for an effective school which is open to the
society (Kirkigianni, 2011). This role includes various functions, inside and outside school, and the cooperation
with all stakeholders in the educational process. The duties of a principal are related to the compliance with
laws, circulars and service orders, but also to the process of taking and implementing the decisions of the
Association of Teachers and participate in the coordination and evaluation of the educational project. Therefore,
the importance of effective school management is essential. Consequently, the principal of a school unit should
be successful in combination of numerous roles. In particular, he/she should work as a coordinator, a
representative, a regulator of operational issues, an organizer, a leader and a teacher (Brinia, 2014).
Additionally, the quality of teaching, the curriculum and the diversification of teaching methods affect the
performance of each student. However, the quality of teaching, the time and the opportunities to learn are also
affected by other factors that included within the school level (Kiriakides, 2004). Additionally, students, by
themselves, determine how much time they devote to complete their school assignments. Therefore, the
cognitive achievements of students are determined simultaneously by factors related to the students’ level, such
as the socio-economic level and the expectations and motives that they have for learning (Kiriakides et al.,
2002).
Apart from the above, all parameters should interact in order to improve students' achievements. There should
be consistency between the powerful features within the school. Furthermore, stability plays a decisive role in
the school unit, which suggests that effective teaching and guidance will be provided throughout school life. At
the same time, among them members of the school unit it is expected to exhibit similar characteristics of
effective teaching. Finally, according to the model of TQM, the development of school effectiveness control
mechanisms in order to achieve the desired results is critical (Kiriakides, 2004).
Continuous improvement is necessary to be introduced to the culture and philosophy of public administration in
order to exploit the circles of quality, productivity and effectiveness. However, some obstacles must be first
overcome in order to change the existing culture and attitudes of the school unit and the subsystems that interact
with it (Chalkia, 2012), while ensuring that the utmost quality of teaching and learning is one of the main
purposes of evaluation. Moreover, the basic assumptions of research on school effectiveness are:
1. Learning is the main criterion for measuring the effectiveness of the school.
2. Training has the potential to positively influence the students' progress.
3. Development and implementation of a theoretical background, which refers to the educational factors and
simultaneously interprets the way they operate.
III. Research Methodology
3.1. Research Sample
This research presents the students' views on the quality of teaching and it investigates the views of students on
issues related to the organization and administration of education. The survey was conducted with convenient
sampling in three classes of a High School in a big city of Greece during random teaching hours. The sample
consists of 63 students. Therefore, ages are ranging mostly between 15-18 years and the course selection in
order to conduct the research was random. This method is called random sampling (Cohen & Manion, 1997). In
this type of sampling, each member of the population has the same probability to be selected and each option is
completely independent of the other. A key advantage of this sampling method is the convenience it presents in
its application. Conversely, however, there are disadvantages associated with this method. For example, it may
not lead to the creation of representative samples which may resulted in the existence of an error in assessment
(Zafeiropoulos, 2005). This method is often used in the early stages of research to get the researcher a first
assessment of the results.

3.2. Data Collection Tools
3.2.1. Questionnaire
In order to collect the necessary information to assess the quality of teaching in the school and connect it with
the school effectiveness, we chose to use the questionnaire as a research tool. Specifically, we chose the method
of data collection using the questionnaire, because this tool is a systematic process in which the researcher
organizes the outline of the questionnaire, according to the research requirements (Siomkos, 2008), hence, the
main objective is the conversion of the required information to specific questions.
In formulating the questions, we based on total quality management model proposed by the European
Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) (Image 1).
Image 1: total quality management model EFQM
For the implementation of this model in education, it is necessary to fulfill certain conditions in order to achieve
the desired results. These conditions concern various factors. Specifically, these factors are divided into areas
such as leadership formed in school unit, the workforce composed of the principal, vice-principal and teachers,
the strategy of the principal regarding the school administration and the students. In addition, the conditions
include the interconnections and partnerships formed between stakeholders, the methods and techniques used in
the classroom and the resources available and ultimately utilized.
For qualitative school operation, it is necessary that the above conditions lead to satisfactory results. In
particular, these results have to do with the satisfaction of teachers at first, but also with the satisfaction felt by
students after the teaching process. Equally important is the impact of the knowledge acquired by students for
the benefit of the society in general (Zavlanos, 2003).
At this point, it is necessary to mention that there has been a selective focus on specific conditions and results,
according to the judgment of the researchers. Specifically, we chose to focus on leadership, partnerships,
resources and procedures because we believe that these are the most critical factors that determine the quality
and effectiveness at school. Moreover, these are the parameters that we can take into account if we aim to
improve the operation of the school unit. This does not mean that all other factors are not important.
3.2.2. Research Process
Based on the above, a questionnaire was designed, which included a total of 14 questions of the same type,
which examined the quality of learning in various classes and the degree of effectiveness of the overall
operation of the school. This questionnaire was given to a total of three clusters, one for each class of High
School (A, B and C class) during different courses, which were selected randomly. More specifically, the
questions were closed-ended, since each student had the opportunity to choose between seven alternative
answers. The answers were based on Likert rating scale. In particular, the 7-degree scale was maximally
selecting “Strongly Agree” and lowest degree of the answer was “Strongly Disagree”. The fact that we chose an
odd number of possible alternatives is because we did not want to push the interviewee student to get a distinct,
clear position on the subject matter, but we wanted to give the opportunity to the student to choose the middle /
neutral view (choice 4) .

Because of the demanding program of students and their limited time, we reduced the number of questions to
14. Additionally we decided to distribute questionnaires via the Internet (online). This simplified the research
because the answers were more objective, due to our distance with the participants. Taking into account the low
response to the electronic questionnaires, in order to motivate all students and increase their interest and thus the
response rate, we distributed them as invitations and we decorated them with various photos of Minions
(characters from animated film Despicable Me) to arouse the attention, in order to participate in our survey.
Since the questionnaire was distributed online and students filled it anonymously, we had to define a coding
method, in order to have a clear picture of the class which is each student and to avoid phenomena of multiple
questionnaires from the same student which would affect the validity of the results. For this reason, we defined
the following codification:
Option A – 1st Grade of High School
Option B – 2nd Grade of High School
Option C – 3rd Grade of High School
Each letter represents a different class, accompanied by a different number starting with 1 in ascending order
according to the number of students in each class. This number was the personal password of each student,
which he/she will be asked to fill in a separate area of the questionnaire. These codes were in every invitation
and were randomly shared to students (A1 ... A21, B1 ... B23, C1 ... C19).
With regards to the formulation of questions, we used simple words and tried to adopt the vocabulary used by
the students. In addition, because of the online distribution of the questionnaire the questions were as clear as
possible. However, there were explanatory comments were we believed it was necessary. This ensured the
complete understanding of the questions from the students, in order to reduce the risk of any misunderstanding.
Appendix presents the questionnaire in its final form.
IV. Presentation of research results
This section summarizes the findings of this research. For the processing of the collected data, we utilized the
SPSS program.
4.1. Results of the three classes of High School
Firstly, the results of the entire sample (all three classes of High School) show that students do not seem to
support the exclusive use of the textbook (Figure 1). On the adjustment of teaching to their needs, students
mostly believe that there were some attempts by teachers to personalize the teaching process (Figure 2).
Students believe that the knowledge gained from the courses is useful for them (Figure 3). In addition, their
views for the communication that develops between them and the teachers (Figure 4) and between teachers and
the school management (Figure 5) vary. However, students expressed a neutral attitude regarding the existence
of communication and information between their parents and the teacher (Figure 6).
Figure 1: Use of textbook instead of other material
Figure 2: Use of individualized teaching

Figure 3: Usefulness of knowledge
Figure 4: Communication of teacher- students
Figure 5: Communication of teacher- principal
Figure 6: Communication of teacher- parents
According to the students' answers group activities are not a common practice (Figure 7). Regarding the
infrastructure and equipment of the classroom, the students seem to retain a neutral attitude on their satisfaction
(Figure 8). The connection of the lesson with their daily lives is considered to be sufficient (Figure 9).
Corresponding results were presented at the next question regarding the objectivity of the evaluation by the
teacher where students seemed to recognize it (Figure 10). Participants believe that during teaching the
traditional approach is generally used (Figure 11), while they hold a neutral attitude on the issue of the adequacy
of teaching hours (Figure 12). Overall, many students feel satisfied with the way courses were conducted
(Figure 13) and believe that the school organization cope with the basic requirements of daily life (Figure 14).

Figure 7: Teamwork Projects
Figure 8: Adequacy of physical facilities and equipment
Figure 9: Link course with daily life
Figure 10: Objectivity of students’ assessment
Figure 11: Traditional teaching methods (monologue, lecture)

Figure 12: Adequacy of teaching hours
Figure 13: Satisfaction from teaching
Figure 14: Satisfaction from school organization
Then, the results per class of the High School were analyzed.
4.1.1. Results from the first class
As mentioned above, part of the sample for this research was students of the first grade of high school. The
students claim that the use of the book is closely related with teaching practice. With regards to the
individualization of teaching, students maintain a neutral attitude. However, they believe that the knowledge
gained in the courses is quite useful in their lives. The results of the research also showed that students have
developed a communication channel with their teachers and they are very satisfied with the connection between
them and the connection between the principal and the teachers. However, they are not pleased with the
communication that has developed between the teacher and their parents, and the attitude they maintain is
neutral. It is worth mentioning, that students are dissatisfied with the lack of group activities and they would like
more contact and cooperation with their peers.
The dissatisfaction of students on infrastructure and equipment of the class is obvious, as the resources do not
seem to serve their needs. As for the connection of the course with daily problems, students are neither satisfied
nor dissatisfied, as the majority of the sample claims that the connection is limited. It is noteworthy that the
students believe that most of their teachers are objective and they evaluate without discrimination. On the other
hand, much of the sample converges on the view that the participation during the teaching process is very
limited and the teacher focuses on traditional techniques, mainly monologue and lecture. Finally, students
believe that the teaching hours of the course are sufficient to consolidate the material and they maintain a neutral
position in the overall operation of the school unit.

4.1.2. Results from the second class
For the second class, on the question which focuses on the exclusive use of the book by the teacher, the majority
of students disagree. Instead, many argue that there are efforts for making lessons tailored to their needs and
believe that the knowledge they derive from them is useful. Also, the majority of students believe that the
communication developed with the teacher and the relationship between the teacher and the principal is frequent
and normal. The replies of students concerning the continuous updating of parents by teachers have high
dispersion tendency towards neutral.
On the other hand, the proposal regarding whether group activities take the students answered that they take
place rarely, while regarding the resources students maintained a neutral attitude. Different results were
conducted by the question concerning association of the course with real life, since the majority of the sample
claimed that there is a strong connection. In the same context, the results on the objective evaluation varied. On
the other hand, almost all students agreed that the teaching process is not conducted in a traditional way and as
for the adequacy of teaching hours, they kept neutral attitude. Finally, many students felt satisfied with the way
of teaching and the overall organization and operation of the school.
4.1.3. Results from the third class
In the third class of high school, regarding the question about the exclusive use of the textbook in teaching, the
majority of students disagreed claiming that other external sources are often exploited. They seemed to be more
cautious, maintaining a neutral attitude in the question about the fulfillment of their needs with the courses. The
same results were presented for the next question, about the usefulness of the knowledge acquired from the
courses. Regarding the existence of communication between parents and teachers, it appears to be limited.
Similarly, the application of teamwork approach during the course is limited and this comes to supplement the
low degree of satisfaction with regards to the physical facilities and equipment of the class.
On the other hand, students expressed a very positive attitude towards the link of course with their everyday life.
However, they remained neutral on the subject of evaluation and its objectivity. A promising result in this class
is that, according to the answers of the students, the course is not taught in a purely traditional way. Concluding,
however, most students believe that the teaching hours are not sufficient to consolidate the material and this
probably led them to express a neutral opinion about the satisfaction they receive from the teaching process, but
also for the organization and operation of the school unit.
V. Conclusions
In order to achieve qualitative education it is necessary to adopt specific policies within the school unit.
Regarding the teaching process, it is not enough to have a teacher and a classroom with students. The quality of
teaching, through the appropriate school climate, influenced and influences the management of the school. We
are in an era of intensive knowledge and information. The modern school which is open to the challenges of the
modern era and is staffed with teachers pedagogically trained can overcome the crisis and the problems and cam
operate in terms of total quality. Of course, a scientific and pedagogical training is not sufficient by itself to
change a school unit from being ineffective to being effective. Everyone involved in the school unit has an
important role to fulfill in order to ensure the effectiveness of all aspects and stakeholders.
The findings from the research focused both on the need of the State for a general revision of the educational
system by methods that promote effective learning and the role of the principal. In this context, the Greek
educational system should be transformed into a qualitative educational system with predominant application of
TQM. In this direction all stakeholders, the Ministry, education intendancies, managers, teachers, students and
parents should help. In particular, teachers should cooperate and improve their teaching methods, the
curriculum, the evaluation methods, their participation in innovative programs etc. Students are expected to
participate in the learning process as active researchers and not as passive recipients.
The school administration should transform the educational system and put in the centre the education of
responsible, democratic and all-round developed people. Furthermore, the orientation of the educational system
in capturing the dynamics of the economy, the investment in human resources, the absorption and rapid
adjustment to the economic and social changes and the improvement of the future of the new generation are
necessary.
"In order to highlight our advantages, we should continue and accelerate the upgrading and modernization of
both the logistics and the institutional framework of educational operation to enable it to respond successfully to
new challenges" (Darra, 2005).

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Appendix
Questionnaire- Quality in the course of Social Science
Please enter your password!
1. Teacher uses only the school textbook instead of other sources (ex. to bring his own notes, other
textbook, additional material.)
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
2. Course is adapted to your needs, teaching is individualized.
3. Knowledge that you gain from the course is useful.
4. There is communication between students and teacher.
5. There is communication between teacher and principal.
6. There is constant communication between parents and teacher.
7. During the course, students have group activities.
8. The infrastructure and the equipment (resources) meet the requirements of the course.
9. The course is linked to the reality and the everyday problems.

10. The evaluation of students is done in an objective way, without discrimination.
11. The course is taught in a traditional way (monologue, lecture etc).
12. The teaching hours are sufficient to consolidate the course context.
13. Generally, you are satisfied with the way the teaching is conducted.
14. The management of the school handles well the basic daily school operations.

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