EDUL 6015 Pamela Barnett

Total Quality Management Assignment #4

Copy the self-assessment instrument found in this chapter. Ask at least five of your peers to complete the assessment instrument. Tabulate the results of the instrument and see if their composite answers match yours. In the areas on the assessment instrument where there is wide disagreement among you and your peers, reflect on what factors contribute to this "lack of quality" in your school and then list them. Discuss your lists of factors with one or more of your peers (who completed the instrument).

Note: Should your assessment results include more than five quality factors needing implementation in your school, choose the most important five factors (in your opinion) to develop the action plan.

Survey Results

There was not a marked difference between the scores of those I surveyed and my scores. In the area of organizational climate, the teachers consistently agree to strongly agree with the 10 statements. In this area, the lowest scores were given to question 3 and 7 that dealt with orderly environment and a free and open academic environment. Teachers are not completely satisfied that the school’s procedures and policies are adhered to enough. They believe that strict enforcement of the procedures and policies that are already in place would create a more orderly environment for teaching and learning. The disagreement with the free and open academic environment comes from the loss of some teacher autonomy that is taking place with the roll out of the new Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) units that our system is implementing. Daily units have been designed by teachers in the system for teachers to utilize in some content areas.

In the area of processes, the teachers are also in agreement with all 10 statements with the lowest scores going to questions 2 and 3. Teachers only somewhat agree that they are asked about the level of quality in specific areas. Our leadership focuses the majority of teacher input into strengths and weaknesses related to student performance on the CRCT. Rarely are we asked about the quality of any other area.

In the area of management practices, the teachers awarded the lowest scores of the entire survey. Questions 3, 7 and 9 earned a disagree score. Teachers said even though we have had teams since the middle school was formed, we have never worked on team building techniques. The majority of the faculty knows each other outside of the school setting and we have a ‘family’ oriented group. Teachers believe that the leadership feels that the teams already have the techniques necessary to be successful because we readily support each other. Likewise, there has never been a forum for teachers to seek clarification on school policies and practices. The majority of teachers know the principal and assistant principal on a personal level and when they have questions they will go directly to them and ask for clarification. Question 7 was the item that earned the lowest score on the entire survey. Teachers definitely feel that the school does not assess teacher job satisfaction. Again, teachers feel that the administration believes that all teachers are satisfied with their job and that there is no need to assess this area.

In the area of outcomes teachers do not feel that the school rewards teachers for the quality of instruction they provide their students. Teachers think that if there is a reward it is given to the faculty as a whole based on overall performance and not individual quality instruction by an individual teacher. If teachers are rewarded by the organization for their quality instruction, it is not done ‘publicly’. In other words, we are not aware of it as a faculty.

Action Plan

1. I would interview teachers to get more specifics and clarification on the quality factors that were given the lowest score. Then I would share the findings with the faculty and administration.
2. Teams would be formed for each area to address the lack of quality. Everyone would be involved in offering solutions and deciding on methods to alleviate or correct the areas of concern.
3. Specific strategies would be implemented and resources would be provided.
4. Evaluation and monitoring of the improvements would be conducted. Other surveys would be utilized to check for other areas of weakness that may develop.
5. A communication network would be established for teachers to communicate concerns to the appropriate team before the problem escalates to a level that disrupts teaching and learning.