Do ISO:9001 standards and EFQM model differ in their impact on the external relations and communication system at schools?

Abstract

Implementation of Quality Management Systems (QMS) has increased greatly in recent years at a wide variety of institutions. The main purpose of this work is to evaluate and compare the impact of having implemented ISO:9001 standards and the EFQM model on the communication system and external relations at schools. This was done by applying a validated evaluation instrument to 2901 subjects of 116 schools in 4 Spanish Autonomous Communities. The results show that the QMS have a medium-high level of impact on the communication system and a moderate level on the external relations dimension. Furthermore, schools with EFQM feature significantly higher levels of impact on the dimensions studied than schools implementing ISO standards. Significant differences were found in the levels of impact as a function of the number of years of implementation and the type of funding received, among other variables. In addition, an interaction effect was found between the type and size of schools in regard to their external relations.