Teachers’ professional involvement in creating a general learning environment in Estonian schools

Comprehensive and vocational schools and kindergartens in Estonia have been obliged to introduce quality management principles since September 2006. This study was designed to explore teachers’ own opinions to identify how they were involved in improvements in Estonian schools according to the criteria set down in the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model. The teachers claimed that they had limited involvement in school strategic planning activities, budgeting and personnel development. The study stressed that Estonian teachers appreciated student academic achievements highly. The school leadership team should develop an activity plan to engage teachers in school improvement activities.