Design and validation of quality improvement model of education and job creation (case study at Tehran's technical and vocational institutes)

The concept of education in recent years has been the concern of all organization's officials. Everyone agrees on the necessity of designing and implementing  productive and practical educational strategies. However, what is essential is developing an efficient, coherent and integrated model and identifying the factors that are effective in the education system so that appropriate and  adequate educational programs can be designed by using the results obtained. The quality of education will have a positive function only if it is regarded as a single totality  whose dimensions are equally taken into consideration. The mobility category in institutes requires a long-term strategic policy to take appropriate actions to improve research, educational, and service activities. On the other hand, such mobility category seems necessary to create a dynamic platform for coordination among different parts of an institute. This study aims to design and validate a quality improvement education and job creation model at Tehran's technical and vocational institutes.

Exploratory sequential mixed method of data collection is used. The statistical population includes managers and professors of technical and vocational institutes who had the required knowledge and experience in the realm of education. The sampling method was purposive  design. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview in which the sampling amount was determined based on theoretical sampling and reaching the theoretical saturation. All interviews were recorded and used for coding, correction, and obtaining feedback. A total of 13 people were interviewed. Open, axial, and selective coding were used to analyze the data. First, the categories were coded after the approval of the experts in the model which, on the whole, at this stage, 230 codes were extracted from 13 interviews, reviews of the documents , effective educational experiences, and other resources. By comparison and classification of similar codes, 90 concepts were extracted and finally separated in 33 subcategories by classification of similar concepts which  were  classified into six general categories of causal conditions, phenomenon-oriented , contextual conditions,  intervener conditions, strategies and outcomes.

Based on the results obtained, this model has causal conditions (teachers' abilities, measuring and interpreting brand performance, identifying and codifying values and brand position), contextual conditions (human resources plans, the culture of value creation in the organization, brand trust and hardware and software education equipment), intervener conditions that includes macro-environmental factors (legal obligations of the institute and international validity of technical and professional qualifications), and micro-environmental factors (customers’ level, competitors’ level, and their knowledge), strategies (stable communications and relationship marketing, transformational innovation, educational planning, and functional marketing) and outcomes (value for the society, value for the organization, and value for the customer).

This study showed that the phenomenon of design and validation of a quality improvement model of education and job creation is affected by various factors, such as brand personality and identity. To establish a value-creating and effective educational model, first, it has to pay special attention to the sign and its conceptual image and the authenticity and credibility that it creates for the institutes. It has also been crucial to specify, define and clarify the brand's visual identity and its appropriate positioning in the target groups' perception. In addition, creating a framework of community-oriented, entrepreneurial, and ethical values in such a way that can amplify public confidencemeans pursuing the public interest by being  responsive and transpareny as well as serving professionally along with competence, efficiency, impartiality, equality, and justice in dealing with customers. Moreover,  how the entrepreneurial function in education works is  a highly significant topic. Assessment and continuous monitoring of the performance of organizations can be a powerful management tool  to help the managers to achieve  their general and strategic objectives. The research model was validated, and the experts evaluated the model designed to improve the quality of education and job creation in institutes as desirable. As a result, this model can be used in technical and vocational institutes.