The contribution of the integrated quality management system to whole school development

Abstract

This study critically examines the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS), a quality and performance management system that was introduced into South African schools in 2005. The extent to which the Integrated Quality Management System has contributed to the development of the school in its entirety has been largely unchartered. The objectives of this dissertation were to determine what the perceived impact of the Integrated Quality Management System was on whole school development. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative research paradigms was employed in order to gather data in this study. Survey questionnaires were administered to principals and educators in KwaZulu-Natal in order to elicit their views on the IQMS. Semistructured and unstructured interviews were also conducted with principals, Senior Management Team members and educators. The data gathered was analyzed using the metatheoritical framework of ‘critical theory’ mainly because the main objective of the study was to uncover the assumptions underpinning the IQMS and its contribution to whole school development. The conclusions arrived at indicate that the mechanical aspects of the IQMS relating to ‘performitivity’ undermine the potential of the IQMS as a genuine professional development tool actuating whole school development. If IQMS is used for the latter purpose it would inevitably lead to an enhancement of the quality of teaching and learning and convert schools into highly developed institutions. Neo-liberal ‘managerialist’ and post-welfarist reforms adopted by the state are not apposite currently for a developing country like South Africa. South Africa requires an educator evaluation policy that is genuinely developmental, taking into account both the professional development needs of its educators and the socio-economic context in which schools operate to ensure schools develop holistically.