In this paper the five cornerstones (key principles) of total quality management (TQM) are introduced by using a new management pyramid called the TQM pyramid. These principles are leadership, focus on the customer and the employee, continuous improvements, everybody's participation and focus on facts. These key principles are discussed in relation to quality in education, so the reader gets a good understanding why the papers in this special issue of TQM have been classified into parts following the same categorization. The paper also includes an overall plan-do-check-act cycle called the PDCA leadership model which may be useful when trying to practise quality leadership in relation to education. At the end of the paper the common learning cycle is compared to the continuous improvement cycle (PDCA).