TQM-based self-assessment in educational organisations

Abstract: The interest in Total Quality Management, TQM, has increased rapidly in both the private sector and in the public sector in many countries. In this thesis TQM refers to a management system consisting of core values, methodologies and tools, which support each other in order increase customer satisfaction with less use of resources. In this thesis experiences from two projects based on self-assessment within the Swedish school system are described. In these projects public as well as private educational organisations did participate, and gave programmes in Advanced Vocational Education (Kvalificerad yrkesutbildning, KY) or Adult Education Initiative (Kunskapslyftet). The aim with the research were to develop a tool for TQM-based self-assessment in educational organisations and to explore the usefulness of TQM-based self-assessment in educational organisations. A TQM-based tool called "Läroverket AVE-version" was developed for use in the AVE-project, and based upon the experiences from that project, a new version of the tool was developed for use in the AEI- project. The results from the two projects indicate that TQM-based self-assessment might be a fruitful way to stimulate quality improvements in the school system. Obstacles experienced during the research also resulted in development of a new less comprehensive tool called "Lärostegen".