Managing total quality in Ugandan teacher education institutions: Insights from tutors and administrators

Oct 15, 2026

This study explores the implementation and management of Total Quality Management (TQM) in Ugandan teacher education institutions from the perspectives of tutors and administrators. A qualitative design with semi-structured interviews gathered in-depth insights from fifteen participants across five purposively selected institutions. Results show awareness of TQM principles is generally high, yet implementation is fragmented, monitoring remains inconsistent, and learning outcomes vary by institution. Key barriers include limited staff engagement in quality assurance and uneven professional development uptake. Context-specific recommendations emphasize capacity building, collaborative management, and institutionalized monitoring mechanisms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Background and global context

Uganda’s teacher education challenges

Need for qualitative insights

Problem statement

African Educational Research Journal Vol. 14(1), pp. 79-86, January 2026 ISSN: 2354-2160 Full Length Research Paper Managing total quality in Ugandan teacher education institutions: Insights from tutors and administrators Gloria Lamaro*, Acayo Agness, Komuhangi Bernadette, Lubangakende Job, Ochen Paul Pax, Opiyo Emmy Godfery and Victor Rwotomiya Department of Education Management, Faculty of Education and Humanities, Gulu University, Uganda. Accepted 14 January, 2026 | ABSTRACT
This study explored the implementation and management of Total Quality Management (TQM) in teacher education institutions in Uganda from the perspectives of tutors and administrators. Using a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders to gain in-depth insights into the strategies, challenges, and perceived outcomes of TQM initiatives. Fifteen participants, including head teachers, tutors, and PTC staff from five purposively selected institutions, were engaged. The study was grounded in an interpretivist philosophy, emphasizing participants’ subjective experiences and meaningmaking processes. Findings revealed that, although awareness of TQM principles was generally high, implementation was often fragmented, monitoring was inconsistent, and learning outcomes varied across institutions. Additional challenges included limited staff engagement in quality assurance processes and uneven application of professional development programs. This study contributed to the discourse on quality assurance in higher education by offering context-specific recommendations for effective TQM adoption. Policy and practice implications included strengthening capacity-building programs, fostering collaborative management practices, and institutionalizing systematic monitoring mechanisms.
Keywords: Total quality management, teacher education institutions, quality assurance. | | --- | | *Corresponding author. Email: [g.lamaro@gu.ac. ug](g.lamaro@gu.ac. ug). | INTRODUCTION The pursuit of quality in education has become a global imperative, driven by the need to equip learners with relevant skills, knowledge, and competencies in an increasingly competitive world. Total Quality Management (TQM) has emerged as a prominent approach for improving institutional performance and accountability, emphasizing continuous improvement, stakeholder engagement, and participatory management practices (Oakland, 2014) . By fostering systematic processes, datadriven decision-making, and a culture of reflection, TQM enables educational institutions to enhance teaching, learning, and administrative effectiveness. In Uganda, teacher education institutions face growing pressure to produce competent teachers capable of meeting evolving educational demands and national development goals. Quantitative indicators highlight these systemic challenges: teacher–student ratios in some institutions reach 1:60, and national teacher performance evaluations reveal disparities in professional competencies across regions (MoES, 2021) . Such figures underscore the urgency of adopting structured quality management frameworks like TQM to improve instructional effectiveness and institutional accountability. Despite its potential, TQM implementation in Ugandan teacher education institutions has been uneven. Constraints include limited financial and infrastructural resources, inadequate professional development opportunities, resistance to organizational change, and varying levels of managerial commitment (Kaggwa, 2020) . While many institutions have formal quality assurance Afr Educ Res J 80 policies, translating them into practice remains challenging. Tutors and administrators, as key actors in quality management, often navigate hierarchical decisionmaking structures and limited collaborative mechanisms that influence the success of TQM initiatives. Globally, research shows that effective TQM management relies on both structural and cultural

FAQs

What approach did the study use to examine TQM in Ugandan teacher education institutions?

The study used a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews to capture stakeholders’ experiences and meaning-making processes.

What challenges did the findings identify in implementing TQM?

Implementation was often fragmented, monitoring was inconsistent, staff engagement in quality assurance was limited, and professional development programs were applied unevenly.

What recommendations are suggested to improve TQM adoption?

The study recommends strengthening capacity-building, fostering collaborative management practices, and institutionalizing systematic monitoring mechanisms.

Oct 15, 2026

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