The Pursuit of Continuous Improvement in Educational Organizations

Wave after wave of educational reform has flooded the educational landscape with pronouncements for change in education; however, none with the impact of Total Quality Management. Today, Total Quality Management is a conceptual and practical reality for many educational administrators who are caught on the horns of a dilemma, balancing the demands for increased accountability within the context of calls for participatory decision making. Few alternatives have been identified from either the research (knowledge base) or the practitioner base which will assist the practicing administrator deal with this dilemma. One such alternative is Total Quality Management (TQM), the most critical component of which is continuous improvement. This book argues that TQM and particularly continuous improvement should be a tool for the improvement of educational leadership performance.