Post on 11-Apr-2023
Investigating the quality of governmental and
Non-governmental pre-school centers in Tehran
City based on Total quality management system
AhmadReza Mohammadiyan, student of master
degree in the field of executive management in
Islamic Azad University
Science and research of Alborz Branch
Abstract
Purpose
We are going to investigate the governmental and non-
governmental quality of pre-school centers in Tehran
city based on total quality management (TQM) system
Method
Current search method is as a scientific- comparative
method and it is a applicable and sectional type.
Statistical population of this research is included
of all pre-school centers in Tehran city.
Statistical sampling of this research is included 100
educational centers in five geographical regions as
the north, south, east and west and also the center
of Tehran. In order to determine statistical sampling
, we are used of cluster sampling within some levels.
A questionnaire is designed based on eight indexes as
(supporting, perfect management, strategic planning,
utilization consequences, quality, identifying and
learning the personnel, strengthening personnel and
improving team works, measuring and quality
analysis , quality insurance , customer-oriented) due
to collecting information in the field of executing
total quality management .
All collected data are analyzed by SPSS software 21
version and multiple-variable variance (Manova)
Results
Findings show that there is a significant difference
between governmental and non-governmental pre-schools
based on multiple-variable analysis. p<0.05
The results of multiple-variable variances show that
there is a significant difference among the result of
the average sampling. So we could conclude that
private learning centers in Tehran from integral
quality management perspective have good position
rather than governmental centers.
Key words: quality evaluation, pre-school educational
centers, total quality management system
Introduction
Schools as a social system could deliver effective
students to the society via inputs and processes. So
these processes should be managed well. It means that
all activities in the school should be followed by
the purpose of default detecting and eliminating them
because this act would improve the quality of
products continuously. A question which could be
raised here is that what is this product? Whether
this product is the result of an educational process
such as acquired scores of students during the year,
the number of graduated students, the number of
people who received certification?
If we look at the education beyond the macro
perspective, we should try to improve the
consequences of educational flows. So we should not
limit the quality improving to the limited and small
results. We should consider to increasing social
effects of students in the society so we should
follow our aims as improving the quality of the
school , increasing individual confidence in the
society and self-orietned. (Mohmmad, 2014)
There are hot issues based on selecting one school in
accordance with this line and its effects on the
competition among schools based on the quality of
education and training all over the world. (Kamron
1996, Haksbi ,2012)
If this plan would be accepted or not, according to
the experimental evidences , the competition could be
effective on the quality of a school but this factor
is not be able to improve the quality by itself. For
example, the evidences show that the competition
level between governmental and non-governmental
schools is increasing but on the other hand, this
phenomena has not any effects on the quality
improvement. (Anderson, 2007)
Providing a unified definition for the quality
concept is difficult. In theory, all collections as
being healthy, being suitable, desired
sustainability, customer satisfaction, prevent from
any damages and etc are defined as the quality. As an
integral look, the quality in educational
organizations is as an approach for moving toward
fundamental values in educational space and continues
improvement.(Ahanchiyan, 2013)
Since 1950s up to now, the quality has been growing
and it is considered by all service providers and
their customers. By technical and scientific progress
in expectation century, today the customers are not
satisfied with any goods or services as same as the
past. So all organizations which are not be able to
meet needs and customer's expectations, could not be
accepted. (Miklani 2012)
In Iran, there is a wide-range of schools under
education and training discipline. The number of
these schools arriving to 13 types. (Ahanchiyan ,
2013)
Of course, this number is not cleared exactly and we
do not know that "whether the variety of schools is
derived of educational and training discipline due to
improving the competition among schools or not? but
we expect that non-governmental schools could be able
to design and control their plans for increasing the
quality level rather than governmental schools.
In the management issues especially since 20
century , a lot of models and different theories are
presented that each of them could be useful in its
place. Therefore, different managerial methods are
executed due to utilizing of sources and facilities
in order to improve the customer's satisfaction.
Among these models, total quality management is more
effective. This managerial system based on Deming,
jouran and all is proving other integral patterns in
quality and quantity fields and improving the
organization, cooperation patterns … (Ghodos, 1995)
However, considering to the quality and total quality
management is not only limited to the manufacturing
organization. Not by considering to these
explanations, we ask this important question that how
is the quality of governmental and non-governmental
pre-schools in Tehran city based on total quality
management (TQM)?
Total Quality Management (TQM)
TQM is an improved commercial method. TQM is a proved
technique due to ensure of sustainability in
competition world. TQM is an individual and
organizational process that its aim is increasing the
satisfaction level among all people who are related
to the organization such as customers, providers and
stakeholders or personnel. TQM is made of three
worlds as following:
Total as it means overview, Quality as it means top
level of a product or service and Management as it
means attitudes, art, control method or
investigation… (Miklaei, 2012)
So TQM is a type of art which could guide all
elements towards arriving to the top position in the
management.
TQM is a collection of rules and philosophy that it
is as fundamental component for continues
organization progress. TQM is a method that guides
all human sources towards organizational progress for
providing customers needs in the present time or in
the future. (Nejati,2007)
Fundamental principles of TQM
TQM has six fundamental principles
1). Committed and involved management in regards with
continual supporting in all organizational levels
2). Absolute customer orientation from domestic or
foreign customers
3). All personnel would be effective
4). Continued improvement process
5). Beneficial relationship with providers
6).Creating effective measurement criterions
An organization is not be able to execute TQM just
when it improves its product and services quality.
Recognizing this concept is not difficult because
losing some parts of the market, customer's
complaining for having better quality is some signs
of this event.
Of course, sometimes some defaults would be appeared
in reducing the production rate or profit but all of
these problems could be solved by TQM. (kolkarni
2005)
Quality improvement is not only limited to the
production but also it involves all the system due to
preventing from any undesired production or correct
them. It should be noted that TQM could not be
effective in short time and it is not an immediate
approach. It takes time for replacing its principle
and techniques in an organizational culture. TQM
should be transferred to all people and all of them
should create positive behavioral changes in
themselves. This is just one of the consequences of
giving a qualified product to the customer and it
could bring more profit for the organization. (Payel
2015)
Research method
Current search method is as a scientific- comparative
method and it is a applicable and sectional type.
Statistical population of this research is included
of all pre-school centers in Tehran city.
Statistical sampling of this research is included 100
educational centers in five geographical regions as
the north, south, east and west and also the center
of Tehran. In order to determine statistical
sampling, we are used of cluster sampling within some
levels. A questionnaire is designed based on eight
indexes and we investigate it by using of Likert
scale and also we use of Cronbach alpha for measuring
validity of the results. These indexes are as
following:
(supporting, perfect management, strategic planning,
utilization consequences, quality, identifying and
learning the personnel, strengthening personnel and
improving team works, measuring and quality
analysis , quality insurance , customer-oriented)
These indexes are measured as you can see 0.85,0.82,
0.82. 0.79, 0.75, 0.88, 0.86, 0.84 .these data then
are analyzed by SPSS software 21version and multiple-
variable variance (Manova)
Research results
The average and standard deviation are provided in
Table 1 for studying all variables of governmental
and non-governmental pre-school educational centers.
Each of these variables are considered based on
standard form for measuring. Of course, it should be
noted that these scores from MIN up to MAX are
related to selected range of strong commitment till
lack of functional capability for each of these
criterions.
Table – 1: the average and standard deviation of
scores between the groups of governmental and non-
governmental pre-school educational centers in Total
quality management
GovernmentalNon-
governmental
Theoreti
cal
scores
Standar
d
averagStandar
d
averagmaxminCriterions
deviati
on
edeviati
on
e
2.4113.153.1716.5200Supporting
and perfect
leadership
3.328.752.1212.45150Strategic
planning
8.0623.129.2535.51400Customer
orientation
2.168.754.0814.20150Identifying
and
personnel
training
5.3811.944.0812.14150Strengthing
personnel
1.719.192.2113.71150Measuring
and quality
analysis
8.4717.437.0523.19300Quality
insurance
17.726.2014.3146.78300Quality and
utilization
consequence
s
49.58105.3846.27174.482000Total
Table 1 shows the average and standard deviation
among two groups. As you can see, the highest average
is referred to the private centers and all subscale
in this group have high average rather than
governmental centers. In order to statistical compare
and assumption test, we have investigated all pre-
assumption with variances by Leven test and
covariance box test. According to these findings, all
pre-assumptions are approved in both groups. But this
test was not significant for each of variables. The
result of M test in Box Test approved all homogeneity
covariance pre-assumptions. It means that there is
no significant difference among covariance from
statistical perspective. By considering to these
findings, using of parametric tests is possible.
Table 2- results of multiple-variable variance among
two groups of governmental and non-governmental pre-
schools in educational centers in Total quality
management
VariablesAverage
squares (MS)
FSig (P)
Supporting and
perfect leadership310.142.860.030
Strategic planning134.2215.850.001Customer
orientation121.4114.210.001
Identifying and
training personnel153.0833.470.001
Improving
personnel and team
works
149.6321.180.001
Measuring and
quality analysis121.413.290.040
Quality insurance127.2915.450.001Quality and
utilization
consequences
346.3321.720.001
Table 2 shows the result of multiple-variable
variance (Manova) on quality management and its
components in governmental and non-governmental pre-
schools educational centers. As you can see , there
is a significant relationship between the average
scores of all variables.
Discussion and conclusion
Educational discipline of Iran has many challenges in
financial provision, delivery, efficiency, quality ,
educational plan and human resource. Most of these
challenges are due to lack of sufficient financial
source . on the other hand, according to the
government's policy, there is no way for solving
these problems. Because in practice, we could see
that educational discipline is not as the highest
priority in businesses list of the government. During
two last decades , private sector was an important
role in non-governmental schools. Despite this fact,
the student' share of this part never arrived to the
10% of total reports. So it could not have any
significant effect in solving education and training
challenges. Now implementing private- government
cooperation mechanisms based on a suitable
administrated- legal framework could be as an
effective approach for revealing from these problems.
A general perspective towards this ministry shows
that it could covers about 14 million and 400000
students and it is as one of the biggest governmental
collection. But it has yet many problems such as lack
of financial sources. According to the formal
statistical reports of vice president of strategic
planning and monitoring (2009) , public budget rate
of the government in 2003 was about 441621 billion
rials that it is increased to 903337 billion rials in
budget law of 2010 based on annual mean growing of
19.7% within fourth development plan.
This shows that public budget of the government
during the first four years of the fourth plan was
near two times of the previous rate. The credit which
was assigned to the education and training in 2003 is
69458 billion rials and this rate based on annual
average growth as 8.9%, increased to 89819 billion
rials in the budget law of 2010. Credit share of
education and training from the governmental budget
in 2003 was about 15.7% that this rate based on
budget law in 2010 it had negative growth of 14.2%
and it is reduced to the 9.9%.
This negative growth shows that only in educational
infrastructure, there are yet approximately 122000
non-standard classes and 1260000 classes that they
are not suitable at all.
It is more than two decades that non-governmental
schools are implemented as private- governmental
mechanism in Iran. This mechanism only could cover
about 1100000 students in 15800 non-governmental
schools. Based on statistical reports from this
ministry (2011), non-governmental was included only
7.7% of students during 2010-2011.
On the other hand, dispersion investigating shows
that the non-governmental schools in urban areas is
99.3% and in rural areas is about 0.07%. 67% of non-
governmental schools in urban areas are included 9
affluent provinces (Azarbaijan sharghi, Isfahan,
Khuzestan, Fars, Tehran, Mazandaran, Gillan, Kerman)
(2010
The findings of this research show that experts
believe that operational contracts are in high level
of priorities. These operational plans refer to the
school improvement in poor cities or villages and
poor students in the educational service. Studying
share and cooperation mechanism in the world show
that the most important part of private education are
based on poor families in cities or villages
(especially rural girls). (Jafari , 2010)
Most of countries such as Pakistan, India,
Indonesia , some African countries have shown a
mechanism that their private schools by receiving low
tuition could give the best services to poor
families. (Larok 2008)
Education and training in Iran has encountered with
lots of quality demands and challenges such as lack
of financial provision , inefficiency , lack of
educational covering as 100% , insufficient
infrastructure, low quality. The results of this
research show hat experts by emphasizing on lack of
choice right and inefficiency in financial source
consumption as the main challenge, they focus on the
managerial contracts as the main mechanism for this
problem.
On the other hand, Non-governmental schools also
could not provide sufficient motivation for
encouraging the private sector due to investing on
this part. So some educational challenges such as
inequality for using of educational facilities and
lack of complete educational service are remained in
these regions. But rich families in the cities are
considered more. Some critics believed that these
mechanism cause inequality in educational discipline
for students. It meant that while other rich families
could use of these schools easily but this privilege
is not provided for poor families in the villages.
On the other hand, charitable organizations
especially donors for building schools are active
just in educational infrastructure. They build about
half of the number of schools each year in Iran.
Despite the importance of educational infrastructure,
experts by comparing private and public sector
believe that infrastructure contractions could be as
a solution for infrastructure challenges in
educational discipline. They think that this approach
could be a suitable way for considering and solving
some problems such as lack of sufficient space.
However donors and charitable association have an
active role in this field. Generally, educational-
economical experts believe that freedom of choice is
the main criterion for arriving to the successful
achievement s in private-public cooperation and it is
as a gate for facilitation of obtaining other
criterions. But this development needs to
managerial , operational and educational contracts.
These priorities from educational- economical
expert's perspective by considering to the social-
economical position of Iran are based on an accepted
education and training discipline.
Findings and total scores in both groups as 174.48,
105.38 and the results of multiple-variable variance
(Manova) for all components show that there is a
significant difference between these two groups and
non-governmental schools are in high level so it
means that these type of schools by deep commitment
and long term perspective have an active role in
quality improvement and utilization. Obtained
privilege for governmental schools show that these
centers are limited with various and different plans
in quality improvement and utilizing growth, so it is
necessary that we move from planning steps to real
execution for achieving essential – practical
results.
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