MODULE 3 WEEK 4

THE SCHOOL AS A CULTURAL JULY 12-16,

2021
INSTITUTION

THE SCHOOL AS A CULTURAL ORGANIZATION

INTRODUCTION

Every school is a unique in their own way and their uniqueness commonly
originates on how they impose different cultures inside and outside their school premises.
Seiznick (1957) claimed that culture is the distinctive identity of a school from the other
schools. But some school culture are common across schools and some unique and
embedded in a particular school’s history and location.

As an educator, one should be knowledgeable not only on the content or what to

teacher and the pedagogy or how to teach but also the culture or where to teach. The latter
is given much importance simply because students will learn best if they are set in a positive
school culture.

This module presents the most common yet the most unseen area in education
which is viewing the school as a cultural institution. It is most common because every
school has their own set of culture but still the most unseen because teachers tend to
disregard the importance of culture in developing optimum potential of their students.
Most of the students do not know the school’s vision, mission, and history but it will be
worst and I know everyone will agree if even teachers do not know the foundation of their
school culture.

Truly, changing the school cultures is more than changing teaching and learning
struggles, assessment, curricula, building and structures, and roles and responsibilities.
This chapter will lead you in turning toxic school into a positive one.

Definition of Culture

Nowadays, due to knowledge explosion, several definitions of school culture have

emerged. Every teachers has his or her own definition of what school culture is. But before
we define what school culture is, let us first define what culture is.

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 As a result of anthropological investigation of people, culture evolved in the
twentieth century. Theorist began culture and redefine how culture impacts life (Rymer,
2006). The first modern definition of culture can be rooted with the definition of Edward
Tyler, a well-known anthropologist who defined culture as a complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief. Arts, moral law, custom, and other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of society.

In addition, Deal and Peterson (2002) claimed that the term culture best denotes the
complex elements of values, traditions, language, and purpose in a given setting.
Moreover, Wincek (1995) further stated that culture is comprise of intertwining of
assumptions, values, and beliefs from which group’s norms, practices, rituals, and meaning
emerge while Clifford Geertz, another anthropologist refurbished the definition of culture
to the fabric of meaning in terms of which human beings interpret their experience and
guide their actions; culture is an ordered system of meaning and of symbols in terms of
which social interaction takes place (Tharp, 2009).

In simple way, Bower (1966) defined culture as the way we do things around here
whereas Schein (1995) provides a comprehensive defensive definition, calling it as a
pattern of basic assumptions-invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it
learns to cope with problems… that worked well enough to be considered valid and,
therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in
relation to those problems.

Among the given definitions, Geertz’ definition of culture is being used more
widely today according to Tharp (2009), however, Deal and Peterson (2009) argued that
from the many different conceptions of culture none is universally accepted as the one best
definition.

Definition of School Culture

School culture is characterized by deeply rooted traditions, values, and beliefs,

some of which are common across schools and some of which are unique and embedded
in a particular school’s history and location. Culture informs the ways in which “things
get done around here” and, just as important, frames how change efforts are perceived.
Based in accumulated experiences, a school’s rules and regulations, policies, and
procedures, whether written or formal, are the lasting artifacts of old organizational lessons
(Kruse & Loius, 2009).

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 Likewise, Schein (1985) defined school culture as complex webs of traditions and
rituals that have built up over time as teachers, students, parents, and administrators work
together and deal with crises and accomplishments.

The use of the term culture in the school context refers to the basic assumptions,
beliefs, and practices that are shared by the members of a school community. These
assumptions, beliefs, and practices mold how a school views itself and its environment.
They shape its operations and how it functions. School culture affects the way people in a
school think, perform, and learn (Starrat, 1993).

Furthermore, Waller (1932) opined that schools have a culture that is definitely
theirs own. There are, in the school, complex rituals of personal relationships, a set of
folkways, mores, and irrational sanctions, a moral code based upon them. There are games,
which are sublimated wars, teams, and an elaborate set of ceremonies concerning them.
There are traditions, and traditionalists waging their old-world battle against innovators.

School culture, therefore, is most clearly seen in the ways people relate to and wok
together; the management of the school’s structures, systems, and physical environment;
and the extent to which there is a learning focus for both pupils and adults, including the
nature of that focus (Stoll & Fink, 1998) or simply the distinctive identity of the schools
(Seiznick, 1957).

Other Cultures in a School

In every school, there are several cultures existing. Pupil cultures, teacher cultures,
leadership cultures, non-teaching staff cultures, and even parent cultures do exist. All
stakeholders in a school culture. But among the different cultures existing in a school,
teacher cultures have received most attention in relation to school’s improvement.

Hargreaves (1994) highlights the four existing teaching cultures:

1. Individualism – refers to classrooms as “egg-crates” or “castles”. Autonomy,

isolation and insulation prevail, and blame and support are avoided.

2. Collaboration – refers to the teachers who choose, spontaneously and

voluntarily, to work together, without external control agenda. This include:
“comfortable” activities sharing ideas and materials—and rigorous forms,
including mutual observation and focused reflective enquiry.

3. Contrived Collegiality – refers to the teacher’s collaborative working

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 relationships which are compulsorily imposed, with fixed times and places set
for collaboration, for example planning meetings during preparation.

4. Balkanization – refers to the teachers who are neither isolated nor work as a
whole school. Smaller collaborative groups form, for example within secondary
school departments, between senior and junior teachers, and class teachers and
resource support teachers.

Becoming familiar with the culture of a particular school takes time. Some tangible
things that may give an initial indication include the following (Starrat, 1993):

• School’s statement of purpose

• School management plan
• School policies such as the student welfare policy
• School’s prospectus
• School’s motto
• Information booklet for casual teachers
• Information/induction booklet for newly appointed staff
• School’s newsletter
• Interactions between teachers and students

Lastly, Foster and Bates (1984) proposed that influencing school culture could
result in positive or negative orientation depending on the agenda of the leader.

Typology of School Cultures

Given the different contextual influences described earlier, it is not surprising that
school’ cultures vary. What is interesting, however, is that schools with similar contextual
characteristics have different mindsets. Over recent years, typologies that describe and
label different idealized types of school culture have been created. While such typologies
cannot capture subtle nuances of individual schools and possible sub-cultures within
schools, they are useful as discussion starters to help teachers consider different facets of
their school cultures (Stoll, 1998).

Stoll and Fink (1996) developed a model in determining the school culture. They
focused on the school’s current effectiveness, but also argue that the rapidly accelerating
pace of change makes standing still impossible and therefore schools are either getting
better or getting worse. These two concepts enable school cultures to be examined on two
dimensions, effectiveness and improving declining.

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 A Typology of School Cultures

Improving Declining

Effective Moving Cruising

Strolling

Ineffective Struggling Sinking

1. Moving refers on the following:

• Boosting pupils’ progress and development
• Working together to respond to changing context
• Know where they are going and having the will and skill to get there
• Posses norms of improving schools

2. Cruising focuses on the following:

• Appear to be effective
• Usually in more affluent areas
• Pupils achieve in spite of teaching quality
• Not preparing pupils for changing world
• Possess powerful norms that inhibit change

3. Strolling highlights the following:

• Neither particularly effective nor ineffective

• Moving at inadequate rate to cope with pace of change
• Meandering into future to pupils’ detriment
• Ill-defined and sometimes conflicting aims inhibit improvement

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4. Struggling centers on the following:
• Ineffective and they know it
• Expend considerable energy to improve
• Unproductive ‘thrashing about’
• Will ultimately succeed because have the will if not the skill
• Often identified as ‘failing’, which is demotivational

5. Sinking refers on the following:

• Ineffective: norms of isolation, blame, self reliance, and loss of faith powerfully
inhibit improvement
• Staff unable to change
• Often in deprived areas where they blame parenting or unprepared children
• Need dramatic action and significant support

School Mission, Vision, and Values

The foundation of school culture’s elements lays at the mission and vision of the
school. Underlying the mission and vision statements are the values the school hold which
determine what philosophies and standards the individuals are the values the school
incorporate into his or her everyday teaching and learning (Rhodes, Stevens, and
Hemmings, 2011).

Every school crafts their mission and vision statements to draw the directions of
the institution. The mission and vision mirror what the school wishes and hopes to
eventually become and accomplish (Peterson & Deal, 2009). Even though these are called
statements they are embodied by all of the values, beliefs, norms, and assumptions that
school holds (Confeld, 2016).

The Department of Education created their vision and mission that every public
school should reinforce. Below are DepEd’s vision, mission, and core values.

DepEd VISION
We dream of Filipinos who passionately love their country and whose values and
competencies enable them to realize their full potential and contribute meaningfully
to building the nation.
As a learner-centered public institution, the Department of Education continuously
improves itself to better serve its stakeholders.

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 DepEd MISSION
To protect and promote the right of every Filipino to quality, equitable, culture-based,
and complete basic education where:
Students learn in a child-friendly, gender-sensitive, safe, and motivating environment.
Teachers facilitate learning and constantly nurture every learner.
Administrators and staff, as stewards of the institution, ensure an enabling and
supportive learning to happen.
Family, community, and other stakeholders are actively engaged and share
responsibility for developing life-long learners.

DepEd CORE VALUES

Maka-Diyos
Maka-Tao
Makakalikasan
Makabansa

In addition to the mission and vision statements, a school has values, beliefs,
assumptions, and norms that guide and control the behavior of the individuals involved
values are expressed as the way the school communicates what it represents and ushers
decision-making and priorities. Moreover, according to Ott (1989), values are the core of
what the school considers important. Values are the standards set for what is good, what
quality means, what defines excellence in other words, what is valued.

Beliefs are understandings about the world around us. They are consciously held,
cognitive views about truth and reality (Ott, 1989). In addition, beliefs are how we
understand the world and people around us while assumptions are a set of beliefs
perceptions, and values that guide behavior. Collectively, the term norms encapsulate all
of these aspects. Norms are unspoken expectations and rules that staff and students are
supposed to follow based on the beliefs, values, and assumptions of the school (Peterson
& Deal, 2009).

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 Norms are the unspoken rules for what is regarded as customary or acceptable
behavior and action within the school (Stoll, 1998). Sarason (1996) shared that norms
shape reactions to internally or externally proposed or imposed improvements. It is,
therefore, important for those working in schools and outsiders supporting them to
understand their norms because acceptance of improvement projects by a school depends
on the fit between the norms embedded in the changes and those within the school’s own
culture.

Stoll and Fink (1996) determined ten cultural norms that influence school
improvement. Because norms are frequently unspoken, catchphrases articulate their core
message. The ten cultural norms of improving schools are:

1. Shared goals – “we know where we’re going”

2. Responsibility for success – “we must succeed”
3. Collegiality – “we’re working on this together”
4. Continuous improvement – “we can get better”
5. Lifelong learning – “learning is for everyone”
6. Risk-taking – “we learn by trying something new”
7. Support – “there’s always someone there to help”
8. Mutual respect – “everyone has something to offer”
9. Openness – “we can discuss our differences”
10. Celebration and humor – “we feel good about ourselves”

The norms are interconnected and feed off each other. They do not just represent
as snapshot of an effective school but also focus on fundamental issues of how people relate
to and value each other (Stoll, 1998).

School Rituals, Traditions, and Ceremonies

A life devoid of ritual and ceremony would be one without richness and zest. The
small daily rituals of our lives provide time for reflection, connection, and meaningful
experience (Peterson and Deal, 2009). There are set of rituals, traditions, and ceremonies
in every school. These makes a school unique from other schools and make the school
active and alive. Joining rituals, celebrating traditions, and conducting ceremonies are grea
opportunities to convene as one while integrating the vision, mission, values, and goals of
the school (Confeld, 2016).

Peterson and Deal (2009) defined school rituals as procedures or routines that are
infused deeper significance. Every school has hundreds of routines that later on become
rituals such as greeting the teacher as students encounter them along the corridor,

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conducting flag ceremonies every morning, and observing the honoring gesture or
“pagmamano” gesture. Indeed, rituals help to transform common experience into
uncommon events. Moreover, school traditions are significant events that have a special
history and meaning and occur year and year out. Unlike ceremonies, they need not to be
large communal events (Peterson & Deal, 2009). Some examples of school traditions are
conducting freshman orientation, holding recollection activities to the graduating batch,
and arranging school camping.

Finally, school ceremonies are elaborated as culturally sanctioned events that

provide a welcome spiritual boost. Most schools have formal ceremonies that mark
transitions in the school year. These periodic communal events and bind people to each
other and shape unwritten cultural values (Peterson & Deal, 2009). Some examples of
school ceremonies are holding the annual graduation, joining some local cultural activities
and celebrating Christmas through Christmas Parties.

School History and Stories

A school’s mission, vision, values, rituals, traditions, and ceremonies are all
elements of the culture that are current and happening in the present. When discussing the
history and stories of an organization, the past is being represented (Confeld, 2016).

Peterson and Deal (2009) shared that learning from the past mistakes and successes
is vital to creating and maintaining a positive school culture. The retelling of the past can
bring some necessary initiatives into action, revive traditions and rituals that have shriveled
away, and assist staff in surrendering previous obsolete memories. But let us always
remembers that the culture of a school is built up over time as people work together, play
together, fight together, and laugh together.

Being able to recall stories may be much more meaningful and influential in
reconnecting teachers and administrators to what is important for teaching and the values
that the school holds. Let us bear in our minds that every story that is told has a different
purpose, no matter how long or short (Peterson & Deal, 2009).

School Artifacts, Architecture, and Symbols

Finally, these three-school artifacts, architecture, and symbols are they key to create
and sustain a positive school culture. The artifacts and symbols are the tangible objects
that represent the intangible values and beliefs of the school (Peterson & Deal, 2009).
Further, these have variety of possibilities such as logos, mascot, banners, awards, flags,

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trophies, and the like. In addition, even school administrators may serve as a walking
symbols as he or she send messages through words, actions, and body language.

Moreover, Confeld (2016) claimed that physical environment of the school

building and the surrounding area are essential in influencing how individuals think and
feel about what is valued. It is not necessary for schools to have an endless budget in order
to maintain the physical environment. Displaying student’s colorful artwork, awards, and
the values of the school can be enough to support individuals in feeling optimistic and
happy about being at school (Peterson & Deal, 2009).

Levels of School Culture

Starrat (1993) crafted a diagram that might help us imagine the school as being
comprised of layers resembling an onion. The outer layer represents the operational level
of the school. This is the level of the school life one experiences on walking into a school
building, seeing children on their way to class, etc.

OPERATIONS

ORGANIZATIONS

PROGRAMS

POLICIES

GOALS AND
PURPOSES

BELIEFS

MYTH

Underneath that layer is the organizational level of the school. This layer is made
up of all those organizing structures of the school such as the weekly schedule of classes.
The next year layer is made up of the programs of the school. This includes various
components of the academic program, as well as the extracurricular programs. Under

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program layer, is the policy layer. It is here that we find the policies by which the school
is run.

Beneath that layer, we find the goals and purposes level. Here we find the general
goals of the school. The mission statement of there is one, sometimes even a philosophy
statement. There statements tell what the school community striving to do, or become, or
achieve.

Nearing the center or core of the onion, we find the level of beliefs and assumptions.
Here would be what might be called the school’s tacit educational platform. We say tacit
because most of the beliefs and assumptions are rarely explicated. We assume that children
come to school to learn, we believe that parents have the best intentions for their children,
we assume that teachers want children to learn something in their classes, we assume
people are rational, we believe that the state has the best interests of the children at heart
in enforcing mandatory school attendance laws etc. The list of beliefs and assumptions is
potentially infinite, for they include beliefs about the most basic matters in life.

At the core of the diagram, sometimes flowing into the layer of beliefs and
assumptions, are the myths and meanings by which people make sense out of their lives by
which thy define value, by which human striving is to be judged, which help to place
oneself in a definable order of things. The core is almost beyond articulation.

Nevertheless, it is in that core of myth, meaning and belief that teachers find the
grounding for their vision of what the school might or ought to become. At the core we
find myths of heroism, of human destiny and of the nature of human society. At the core
we find myths of heroism, of human destiny and of the nature of human society. Those
myths are usually embodied in story, in poems, in highly symbolic literature. They shape
our convictions, our beliefs, and our attitudes toward most things. Because of them, we
can reach consensus on our beliefs and assumptions (Starrat, 1993).

Assessing School Culture

In assessing the culture within your school, you may use the instrument developed
by Gruenert and Calentine (2015). The culture Typology survey allows individual to
recognize and rate the degree to which he or she observes and engages in certain behaviors
within the school environment. Moreover, this activity is not judging the culture of the
school but rather allowing the individual to tabulate the actions at the school.

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 There are twelve key aspects of the school culture and six types of cultures. The
twelve key aspects are:

1. Student Achievement
2. Collegial Awareness
3. Shared Values
4. Decision-making
5. Risk Taking
6. Trust
7. Openness
8. Parent Relations
9. Leadership
10. Communication
11. Socialization
12. Organization History

Along with these are the six types of school cultures:

1. Toxic
2. Fragmented
3. Balkanized
4. Contrived-Collegial
5. Comfortable-Collaborative
6. Collaborative

Toxic School Cultures

The dream of every educational leader is to have the desirable school culture where
everything works well but not all they have plan runs the way they have visualized it,
sometimes, it goes the other way around.

School culture is the underlying set of norms, values, traditions, ceremonies, and
unwritten rules of behavior, action, and thinking. The school culture is built over time as
educators cope with problems, deal with changing students and staff, and deal with
successes and failures. Over time the group develops a set of values and beliefs that are
the glue that keeps it together. Oftentimes the culture of positive, nurturing, and
professional-and supportive of change and improvement. Sometimes, though, the culture
has developed dysfunctional values and beliefs, negative traditions, and caustic ways if
interacting. These are what Deal and Peterson (1998) called toxic cultures.

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 Toxic school cultures lack a mission and vision, value laziness and apathy,
appreciate separateness and exclusivity, and have negative peer relationships (Peterson,
2002). According to Gruenert and Whittaker (2015), these cultures focus on failures and
use these as an excuse to remain stagnant. Also, they added that toxic school cultures
encourage individuals to see failures as the inevitable results of circumstances outside of
their control rather than as opportunities for improvement.

According to Peterson 920020, schools with negative or toxic culture:

1. Lack a clear sense of purpose

2. Have norms that reinforce inertia
3. Blame students for lack of progress
4. Discourage collaboration
5. Often have actively hostile relations among staff

Moreover, in toxic cultures, staff:

1. View students as the problem rather than as their valued clients

2. Are sometime parts of negative subcultures that are hostile and critical of change
3. Believe that they are doing the best they can and do not search out new ideas
4. Frequently share stories and historical perspective on the school that are often
negative, discouraging, and demoralizing
5. Complain, criticize, and distrust any new ideas, approaches or suggestions for
improvement raise by planning committees
6. Rarely share ideas, materials, or solutions to classroom problems.
7. Have few ceremonies or school traditions that celebrate what is good and hopeful
about their place of work

These schools are not fun places to work in and seldom try to improve what is going
on. Toxic cultures inhibit and limit improvement efforts in several ways.

• In these cultures, staff are afraid to offer suggestions or new ideas for fear of
being attacked or criticized.

• Planning sessions lead by the school improvement council or committee are

often half-hearted due to the negativity and sense of hopelessness fostered by
the hostile staff that refuse to see that improvement is possible

• New staff that bring hope and a sense of possibility are quickly squelched and
reserialized into negative ways of thinking.

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 • Programs that are planned are poorly implemented because the motivation and
commitment to change is weak or nonexistent.

• Plans fail for lack of will.

• No one wants to work in these kinds of schools. But it takes leadership, time
and focus to rebuild these festering institutions. Fortunately, most schools are
not this negative, though many have some of these cultural patters that make
change problematic problems.

How do schools deal with “toxicity” in their culture? Deal and Peterson (1999)
suggest several things educators can do. These include:

• Confront negatively and hostility head-on and work to redirect negative

energies.
• Protect emergent sources of positive focus and effort.
• Actively recruit more positive and constructive staff.
• Vigorously celebrate the positive and the improving sides of the school.
• Ensure that improvement efforts and plans are successful by supporting with
time, energy, and resources.
• Reconnect staff to the mission of schools: To help all children learn and grow.

It is up to the school leaders-principals, teachers, and often parents-to help

overcome the debilitating influence of negative cultures and to rebuild and reinforce
positive student focused cultures. Without positive, supportive cultures, reforms will falter,
staff morale and commitment will wither, and student learning will decline.

Creating a Positive School Culture

An obvious goal for school leaders is for schools to develop and maintain string
cultures. School with string cultures will have effective leadership with exceptional student
performance (Jones, 2009). To create a new culture of change, school principals and
teacher leaders must focus on an overall organizational transformation that includes the
following successful practices:

• Defining the role of the school principal, teacher, and school community
through open communication and academic growth activities that can best serve
the needs of a particular school community.

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 • Scheduling effective communication mechanisms, such as staff lunchroom
visits, department forums, staff meeting pop-ins, and all district personnel
raffles.
• Sharing successes through employee union newsletters, internal
correspondence, and community relations that breed further successes for
diverse student populations.
• Visualizing school wide and classroom goals that support the goals of a school
site and district to generate key results and offering staff development training
that supports these results.

Moreover, Deal (1985) identified eight attributes of effective schools with strong
cultures:
1. Shared values and a consensus on “how we get things done around here.”
2. The principal as a hero or heroine who embodies core values.
3. Distinctive rituals that embody widely shared beliefs.
4. Employees as situational heroes or heroine.
5. Rituals of acculturation and cultural renewal.
6. Significant rituals to celebrate and transform core values.
7. Balance between innovation and tradition and between autonomy and control.
8. Widespread participation in cultural rituals.

In addition, Phillips and Wagner (2003) identified following 13 possible

characteristics for cultural improvement in schools:

1. Collegiality – the way adults treat each other.

2. Efficacy – the feeling of ownership or capacity to influence decisions.
3. High Expectations – excellence is acknowledged; improvement is celebrated.
4. Experimentation and Entrepreneurship – new ideas abound and inventions
occur.
5. Trust and confidence – participants believed in the leaders and each other.
6. Tangible support – efforts at improvement are substantive with abundant
resources made available by all.
7. Appreciation and Recognition Improvement – people feel special and act special.
8. Humor -caring is expressed through “kidding”.
9. Shared Decision-Making by all Participants – anyone affected by a decision is

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 involved in making by all Participants – anyone affected by a decision is
involved in making and implementing the decision.
10. Protect what is important – participant keep the vision and avoid trivial tasks.
11. Traditions – celebrations.
12. Open and Honest Communication – information flows throughout the
organization in formal and informal channels.
13. Metaphors and Stories – evidence of behavior being communicated and
influenced by internal imagery.

Summary

School culture plays a vital role in the success of every academic institution. The
students, staff, teachers, school administrators, and other stakeholders should unite in
promoting positive school culture. If one from the stakeholders will not cooperate, the
entire system will be affected.

• Culture is a complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law,
custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of
society.

• School culture is defined as complex webs of traditions and rituals that have
built up over time as teachers, students, parents, and administrators work
together and deal with crises and accomplishments (Schein, 1985).

• Hargreaves (1994) highlighted the four existing teaching cultures: individualism,

collaboration, balkanization, and contrived-collegial.

• The following are the elements of the school culture: vision, mission, values,
rituals, traditions, ceremonies, stories, history, artifacts, architectures, and symbols.

• There are different levels of school culture. It starts with the school operations going
to the school myths.

• In assessing the culture within the school, Gruenert and Valentine (2015) developed
the culture Typology Survey which assesses the school culture.

• There are 12 key aspects of school culture: student achievement, collegial

awareness, shared values, decision-making, risk-taking, trust, openness, parent
relations, leadership, communication, socialization, and organization history.

• Along with these are the six types of school cultures: toxic, fragmented, balkanized,
contrived-collegial, comfortable-collaborative, and collaborative.

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 • According to Peterson 920020, schools with negative or toxic culture: lack of a
clear sense of purpose, have norms that reinforce inertia, blame students for lack of
progress, discourage collaboration, and often have actively hostile relaxations among
staff.

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Practice.” South African Journal of Education, 27/(3), 391-406

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