Human Factor as a Quality Criterion in Secondary Education: An Approach within the Framework of the European Model of Administrative Excellence EFQM

Abstract

The main purpose of this work is to analyze the perceptions and attitudes of secondary school education units regarding the qualitative characteristics of human resources, both in relation to the existing and the desired situation so that the administration is effectively carried out in the framework of the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) and based on the specifications that the European Model of Administrative Excellence (EFQM) defines. The survey was conducted in the framework of the quantitative research approach from April 24 to May 26, 2017 by using the anonymous written questionnaire method, which was completed by 214 secondary education teachers in the prefecture of Arcadia. The results of the survey show that moral rewards are low, while financial rewards are completely absent from school units. At the same time, there is a low level of good communication, lack of competition on a personal level, a low degree of cooperation and exchange of views and honesty, while most respondents stated that the above mentioned are quality features that they would wish to be present in school units. Finally, the majority of respondents said that the dissemination of information and the transferring of it through various techniques, the encouraging and supporting of human resources to participate in activities (educational programs, innovative actions) aimed at improving the educational unit are quality features, which the sample prioritizes as very important and imperative to be adopted by the educational units.