Total Quality Management in Education: A Comparative Study on Students’ Perception and Academic Performance

This study investigates how Total Quality Management (TQM) practices in secondary schools relate to students’ perceptions of educational quality and to their academic performance. Using a quantitative correlational design, the research surveyed 292 grade-9 and -10 students and 47 school principals from grant-in-aid Gujarati-medium secondary schools in Ahmedabad, India. Principals completed a structured questionnaire to generate a composite TQM implementation index, while students reported their perceptions of school quality on a validated Likert survey. Student academic performance data were obtained from school records. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlations, and independent t-tests were used for analysis. Results showed that schools with higher TQM implementation had students who rated school quality significantly higher (e.g., mean perception 3.53 vs. 3.28 on a 5-point scale; p<.001), and TQM scores correlated strongly with student perception (r = .56, p<.001). A smaller but significant positive correlation emerged between TQM and academic outcomes (r = .25, p = .001). These findings indicate that robust quality-management practices align with enhanced student satisfaction and, to a lesser extent, improved achievement. The study provides practical insights for educators and policymakers: by emphasizing continuous improvement, stakeholder engagement, and data-driven processes, schools can foster a more positive learning environment and potentially boost student outcomes. This work contributes to the literature on educational quality by offering empirical evidence of TQM’s impact in the Indian secondary school context and by highlighting strategies for sustainable school improvement.