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A growing number of schools are now implementing quality management systems (QMS). As a result, studies are being conducted to assess the educational benefits of these systems and their capacity to identify areas for improvement in school processes and performance. The purpose the present study is to assess the impact of ISO:9001 implementation on teaching-learning processes in the classroom, and in schools with at least three years’ experience of applying this standard.

To this end, a questionnaire was administered to a final sample of 2,185 subjects from 80 pre-school, primary and secondary education schools in the regions of Madrid, Castile and León, Andalusia and Valencia (Spain).

The results show that ISO:9001 implementation yielded a higher than average impact on teaching-learning processes. Specifically, improvements were observed in the subdomains of tutorials, evaluation and classroom teaching methodologies as a result of implementing this QMS.

This impact was higher in state-subsidized private schools in Valencia and Andalusia with over nine years’ experience of ISO:9001 in schools with internal funding plans and in those with fewer than 29 teachers on the staff.

Recently, the application of quality management systems (QMS) in educational institutions has become widespread, in an effort to improve diverse processes and results in schools. However, there are very few studies that enable us to confirm whether these QMS bring true changes that are sustainable over time and lead to improvements in these institutions.

This study thus aims to assess the impact of the implementation of ISO:9001 standards on school climate and on the satisfaction of the members of the educational community at 80 Spanish preschools, primary and secondary schools in different autonomous communities.

The analyses performed show conclusive results regarding the impact of ISO:9001 standards on teachers' involvement in improving the school's climate, conflict resolution by the management team and in families' involvement and satisfaction with the school. However, no apparent evidence was found of the impact on relations among teachers, conflict resolution among staff members and the perception of satisfaction by the teachers themselves.

We must bear in mind that the results and conclusions obtained are based on the instrument developed for this study, where it has been the members of the schools themselves who have assessed the changes they have perceived or that have taken place. However, due to the limitation of the instrument, it could be complemented in future research with external evaluations that could complement the results obtained in the present study.

Furthermore, greater impact of the ISO standards was identified in schools from certain regions (Valencia and Andalusia), in state-assisted private schools, in smaller schools and in institutions which have been implementing the QMS for longer periods of time. The management team also perceived a greater improvement in climate than did teachers.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and compare the impact of implementation of ISO 9001:2008 Standards perceived by Management Teams and Teachers in schools in four autonomous communities in Spain.

To assess this impact, the authors used an evaluation instrument made up of 93 items assessing seven major dimensions, whose reliability has been excellent for the full scale (Cronbach’s α = 0.987) and dimensions (α > 0.93). The authors conducted descriptive and differential analyses (ANOVA and t-test for independent samples) of the assessments by professional position (managers and teachers) and other variables (size and type of school, years of implantation, etc.). A factorial analysis of variance was conducted to analyse the interaction effect between these variables in each of the evaluated dimensions.

The most significant results show a high impact on the dimension management, medium on communication, learning process and external relations and low impact on climate, support and recognition and satisfaction. Likewise, the authors found that members of the Management Teams valued the impact that ISO 9001:2008 Standards have had on all dimensions at a higher level, except for external relations, where no significant differences between Teachers and Management Team members were found.

The study makes it possible to conclude that in general terms, the members of the Management Team of the schools perceive a higher impact of the implementation of ISO 9001:2008 Standards than teacher do in the different dimensions evaluated.

The specialised literature shows the lack of studies related to the impact that the implementation of quality management systems has on organisations. Specifically, this study provides conclusions to the scientific and professional community with objective evidence of the impact ISO 9001:2008 implementation has had on schools, through an indirect system of perceptions of the education community of the changes, which according to them had taken place as a result of implementation. Thus, this study contributes to the development of a new body of knowledge by evaluating this impact.

Quality management systems are being used more frequently in educational institutions, although their application has generated a certain amount of disagreement among education experts, who have at times questioned their suitability and usefulness for improving schools. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this discussion by providing additional knowledge on the effects in educational institutions of implementing quality management systems. Specifically, this study investigates teachers’ and managers’ perception of the impact that quality management systems have on one essential dimension of schools, the teaching–learning processes, with impact being understood as sustained medium- and long-term organisational change.

The responses were analysed and classified into a set of sub-dimensions linked to quality management processes in a total of 29 Spanish primary and secondary education schools that have used such systems for at least three years.

The results showed that, according to the respondents, the following sub-dimensions were improving as a result of implementing quality management plans: teaching and learning processes, the analysis of student results, tutoring, consideration of attitudes and values and assessment processes. Conversely, quality management systems did not seem to have a clear impact on the teaching methodologies used by teachers or on family involvement in student learning. In fact, the perceived impact in these sub-dimensions varied among teachers of public and private schools as well as when comparing different regional autonomous communities.

As the main objective of a school is to guarantee student learning, one of the essential purposes of school quality assurance systems is to perform all the activities aimed at ensuring high levels of student performance.

Implementation of quality management systems in educational institutions has gradually increased over the last few decades, even though there are still questions about the actual usefulness of these systems for improving school processes and outcomes. This study takes an in-depth look at the impact, understood as sustainable medium and long-term changes in the organisation, which implementation of quality management systems has on schools. Specifically, it analyses the effect these systems have on an essential dimension for school efficiency, which is school climate, as well as on satisfaction of the members of the education community.

To achieve this, we conducted an evaluation of the impact of quality management systems on a total of 29 Spanish primary and secondary education schools. This study is part of non-experimental research, since it is not possible to manipulate variables or randomly assign participants or treatment (Kerlinger 2002). This is an “ex post facto” study since the independent variables cannot be manipulated, but rather we wait for developments to occur naturally and then they are analysed. The idea is to validate the hypothesis once the event occurs, trying to find its causes “retrospectively”.

The results showed that quality management systems have a positive impact on aspects such as development of coexistence rules in schools, teacher participation in initiatives to improve schools and a positive climate in schools.

On the other hand, there is no evidence of the impact of these systems on conflict resolution procedures or family participation in school life. The impact of quality management systems on the satisfaction of the members of the school community is also moderate.

The results obtained also show that the impact tends to be greater in private subsidised centres, in small schools, in centres where the system has been implemented for more years and when there is more support and monitoring by the educational authorities.