title: Exploring the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) in curriculum development and evaluation in the Ministry of Education in the Sultanate of Oman
Creators: name: Al hashami, Khalil Nasser Saif
Publisher: name: University of Glasgow
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: TQM, quality, curriculum development and evaluation quality, school education quality, Oman.

description: The Ministry of Education (MoE) in Oman continues to improve the quality of education in response to the Omani labour market requirements, and to achieve global education standards, by making ongoing improvements to various components of the education system, such as curriculum development and evaluation, which is the main core of this study. The curriculum development and evaluation processes in the Directorate General of Curriculum (DGC) have received their share of attention and development due to their importance as one of the main elements in education. The Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy is based on principles that help institutions to develop their performance to achieve the highest possible quality productivity and services. Quality in education should reach all of the institution's processes in order to establish continuous improvement mechanisms for all of the education system’s processes to improve their performance, which is reflected in the learning through which students are able to achieve educational excellence. A number of studies and global reports highlight that there are several components in the Omani school curriculum that could potentially have a negative effect on the educational system. This arises from an imbalance in the overlapping processes in the work of the DGC in the MoE, because the quality of curriculum content is associated with the quality of curriculum development and evaluation work processes. The main aim of this study, therefore, is to investigate the application of TQM principles in the curriculum development and evaluation work in the DGC in the MoE in Oman. The key question is whether the curriculum development and evaluation work undertaken in the DGC is based on TQM principles because the quality of curriculum content is associated with the quality of curriculum development and evaluation work processes. The study focuses on current DGC staff practises in order to highlight the strengths and weakness of curriculum development and evaluation work, and to gain an understanding of the perspectives of the DGC staff in respect of the application of TQM, examining the potential benefits and obstacles of applying TQM principles in the curriculum development and evaluation work in the DGC, and proposing solutions and suggestions. The current literature relates to TQM in general. In this study, TQM in education and curriculum development and evaluation is analysed to design the study instruments. The research methodology literature was then reviewed to identify the appropriate methods and instruments to use. A mixed methods approach involving both qualitative and quantitative methods was used to fulfill the main aim of the study. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. Quantitative data was collected from 147 participants from the staff of the DGC in the MoE by means of an online survey, and then SPSS (V. 22) was used for quantitative data analysis. Qualitative data was obtained from the semi-structured interviews with 10 participants, and open-ended questions in the questionnaire and then analysed thematically. The results from both the quantitative and qualitative data show that there is no systematic application of TQM principles. However, there are some strengths in curriculum development and evaluation work, such as the leadership in the DGC being convinced of the importance of change and development for quality, theoretically, through open discussions between the different levels and the positive personal relationships among DGC staff. The findings of the study also highlight various weaknesses associated with leadership practices, employees' involvement, continuous improvement, technical work, and staff satisfaction. The study has found an overall agreement among the participants that implementing TQM is urgent to create a quality culture in the organization of work, which will positively reflect on the quality of the curriculum content. This study also indicates the potential obstacles of applying TQM principles in the curriculum development and evaluation work in the DGC relating to financial, administrative, technical, and strategic issues. Finally, this study proposes potential solutions. Recommendations based on the findings are made that might provide the necessary information to the DGC to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the current approach to improve the standard of future work, and to encourage the DGC to fully adopt the philosophy of TQM in curriculum development and evaluation work.