Factors supporting quality management principles to improve performance in South African public schools

Author : Prof Barnes Sookdeo

Abstract :Quality Management Principles (QMPs) were initially developed for manufacturing industries; however, according to literature, these QMPs alongside the supporting factors can be used in public schools to improve school performance. This study focused on the factors that support QMPs in a selected provincial district in South Africa to improve performance, as these QMPs are a set of fundamental beliefs, norms, rules and values that are accepted as true, and are used as a basis for quality management. QMPs and their supporting factors were relevant to this study, as they discussed the theoretical framework, the factors that support QMPs adoption by school management, inclusive of the School Governing Body (SGB) and educators. The sample size of 169 respondents was used and the study adopted a quantitative research approach. Data was collected via an online, self-administered questionnaire. The findings of this study indicated that there is a positive relationship between the QMPs and the factors that support the QMPs, as school management was found to be the highly ranked supporting factor, followed by the SGB, and school administration, implying that the adoption of the QMPs advocate for effective and efficient implementation of the factors that support the QMPs. The study focused only on public secondary schools, as these are the schools that record lower performance, compared to the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) schools.

Keywords :Quality management, quality management principles, school management, school governance, school district, school policies, school performance

Conference Name :International Conference on Business, Economics, Finance and Management Sciences (ICBEFMS-24)

Conference Place Las vegas, USA

Conference Date 21st Nov 2024