TQM‐based self‐assessment in the education sector

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a self‐assessment project, the steps taken and the tools used, and above all, focus on the evaluation made after the decision to discontinue, learning and acquiring knowledge about self‐assessment as a methodology in educational organizations. Design/methodology/approach In order to investigate the experiences of the project, interviews were conducted with the Upper Secondary Education Officer and with ten School Principals and a questionnaire was administered to gather opinions among the other staff members. The analysis mainly consisted of searching for potential patterns among the respondents' answers studying their own words by use of three different criteria. Findings It is important how an organization enters a self‐assessment project, or even any quality project. Many people do not seem to have thought very much about what is considered to be quality in the environment in which they operate, and even less have a shared view within the organization. Too often organizations tend to start working with self‐assessment without sufficiently thinking of “why” and “how” to accomplish the project. The work is performed without preparing all those who are to participate in the project and without discussing the core values that constitute the work. If the organization has not reached the necessary maturity level it is probably a waste of resources to start a comprehensive self‐assessment project. Orginality/value As a synthesis form the analysis, a model for how an organization should start self‐assessment is presented, as well as a number of guiding points. Also, the new tool “Lärostegen” is described.

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