TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND TEACHER PRODUCTIVITY IN LAGOS STATE PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS, NIGERIA

Abstract

Abstract

Teachers do not work in isolation. What they achieve in a school depends partly on the resources they are given, the training they receive and the leadership they work under. This study examined the relationship between Total Quality Management (TQM) and teacher productivity in public senior secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria. It sought to establish the level of TQM awareness and adoption, the level of teacher productivity, the relationships of resource provision and leadership effectiveness with productivity, and the contribution of TQM to productivity. A descriptive survey design with a correlational component was used. Data came from 1,027 teachers drawn from the six education districts through proportional, stratified and simple random sampling, using researcher developed instruments. TQM was measured through resource provision, staff development and administrative leadership effectiveness. Productivity was measured through content mastery, content delivery, cocurricular participation, ad hoc committee participation and quality record keeping. Most teachers reported awareness of TQM (83.45% had heard of it and 84.05% knew its basic principles), and 90.47% said their schools appreciated and applied it. Productivity was moderate overall (M = 2.87), highest for content mastery (M = 4.44) and lowest for quality record keeping (M = 1.48). Resource provision (r = .116, p < .001) and leadership effectiveness (r = .103, p = .001) were positively and significantly related to productivity, and TQM made a significant positive contribution to productivity (β = .276, t = 8.511, p < .001). The correlations were small, which suggests that quality management works as a system and that no single practice carries the effect. Schools and education authorities should therefore treat TQM as a combined program covering resources, staff development, leadership, and monitoring.