A model of quality assurance in primary education management : the case of Greece

The paper validates a framework which is based on EFQM and associates quality criteria to results and outputs, reflecting the organization readiness and efficiency. The paper studies the views of school principals of Kindergarten and Elementary Schools in Greece. A nationwide survey provides a representative sample of 231 school principals who were administered an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was constructed by applying the EFQM framework as the basic pattern. Based on previous approaches which use PLS models in the education context, the paper provides findings on how key criteria of EFQM associate to each other when applied to the elementary education context in Greece. Findings provide evidence that EFQM criteria are indeed associated both directly and indirectly. The validation of the proposed model supports that the particular instrument can be used as a tool for continually assess, measure and improve the management procedures of elementary education organizations in order to have improved measures of key results criteria.