From the Factory Floor to the Staff Room: A Narrative Review of Quality Circles and Quality Learning Circles in Education

Quality circles are originated in Japan in the early 1960s for bringing continuous improvement in process and product through small and volunteered group of employees who works for the solution of existing problems. This narrative review sheds light on the origin and diffusion of quality circles by describing their structure and working mechanism and examines the induction of quality circles in education in the form of student quality circle and quality learning circles. This interpretive review shows same structure of quality circles and quality learning circles such volunteer membership, small independent groups and structured problem solving cycle. This review reflected that Kaizen circles, reflective circles, problem solving circles and literature circles are the variant of quality circles. This review concludes that quality learning circle promotes ownership, collective problem solving, peer support and leadership among teachers.