JUSTIFICATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY THEORY ON TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN EDUCATION

Educational psychologists, past and present, have propounded different theories in education that have indeed affected modern educational systems. One such theory is the Gestalt theory, which states that the whole is better than the sum of its parts. In other words, our perceptions are always centered on the whole even before we visualize the parts that form the whole. This means that the whole is stronger than the individual parts. Further, the theory stipulates that the whole speaks for the individual parts. Such an idea is borrowed by many enterprises, corporations, and institutions that focus on teamwork rather than on an individual’s contribution. In institutions and corporate bodies, wholistic functionalism is always needed for success and growth. That, in a nutshell, describes why in Total Quality Management (TQM) we cannot ignore the wholistic idea of the gestalts. After all, TQM is the practice that involves the total performance and involvement of all workers and all material entities for the achievement of the goals and objectives of an organization. It involves teamwork with a single aim, which is ultimately excellent performance. TQM involves continuous evaluation of performance resulting from the total contribution of every facet and tenet of an organization. This paper is a descriptive analysis of how Gestalt theory in psychology has shaped the practice of TQM in our educational institutions, and of course, other organizations.