Abstract

The present study seeks to develop a total quality management (TQM) system that can be applied to primary schools. The approach focuses on customer orientation, total involvement of all constituencies and continuous improvement. TQM principles were studied and synthesized according to case studies of the best practices in 3 primary schools (small, medium, and large) I Inputs were defined as) organizational leadership and organizational resources. Processes were defined as existing in five subsystems, strategic planning, student and stakeholder focus, knowledge management and measurement, staff focus, and process management. Output consisted of education towards excellence and improved performance of the students as the result of the work of subsystems. The application of TQM to improve quality of education in the school system provides a high quality gradient focusing on improvement in student performance in terms of academic achievement, key competencies and scores on achievement tests in reading, critical thinking and writing

Key words: Total quality management, school system, primary, application.