Quality management in schools: Analysis of mediating factors

Abstract

The objective of this study is to contribute to Quality Management Systems (QMS) and their impact on schools in the Basque Country, Spain. Specifically, it analyses two models: the EFQM Excellence Model, which originated in the business world, and the Integrated Quality Project (IQP) Model, which has a humanistic focus and arose from an educational research perspective. To do so, 14 schools were analysed by means of a sample of 315 subjects (42 managers and 273 teachers) who utilise one of these two QMS. The results show that the longer the period of time for which schools had had quality certification, the greater the perception of quality among the teaching staff, regardless of the model used. This leads to the conclusion that having in place a quality model in a school makes the teaching staff more aware of the existence and importance of quality management systems and models and leads them to aspire to higher educational quality.

Keywords: assessment methods; education; educational quality; EFQM Excellence Model; quality management systems; quality models