Chapter 10 Creating Positive School Culture PDF

Chapter 10 creating positive school culture Creating a positive school culture  learning outcomes At the end of this Chapter, you should be able to:  explain the meaning of school culture;  discuss how school culture affects learning; and  cite ways by which you can contrib...

Chapter 10 creating positive school culture Creating a positive school culture  learning outcomes At the end of this Chapter, you should be able to:  explain the meaning of school culture;  discuss how school culture affects learning; and  cite ways by which you can contribute to the building of positive culture. Introduction  School culture matters. This influences to a great extent how well students perform. School culture is a creation of all the people in school and in the community especially that of the school heads. It can be positive or negative. It can facilitate or adversely affect learning. A school community must therefore strive to create a positive culture.  The meaning of school culture  School culture is one of the most complex and important concepts in education (Schein, 1985). It generally refers to the beliefs, perceptions, relationships, attitudes and written and unwritten rules that shape and influence every aspect of how a school functions (https://www.edglossary.org./school-culture). However, the term also encompasses more concrete issues such as the physical and emotional safety of students, the orderliness of classrooms and public spaces or degree to which a school embraces racial, ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity.  According to Spacey (http://simplicable//new/school/John, Nov. 23, 2017), school culture consists of the norms and shared experiences that evolve over school's history. In fact, Scott and Marzano (2014) state that "school culture is reinforced by norms, expectations and traditions, including everything from dress codes to discipline systems to celebrations of achievement. Therefore, it may be described as the character of a school that gives a school qualities beyond its structures, resources and practices. They are "built through the everyday business of school life. It is the way business is handled that both forms and reflects the culture." (Sophier, J. 1985)  Culture as a Social Construct  Culture is a social construct not a genetic construct. This means that school culture is, therefore, something that we do not inherit or pass on through the genes. Rather, it is something that we create and shape. It is shaped by everything that all people in school see, hear, feel and interact with. It is a creation of the school head, teachers, parents, non-teaching staff students and community. Sean Slade (2014) elaborates:  Within a couple of minutes of walking into a school or a classroom, you can tell, define almost taste the culture that permeates that space. Is it an open, sharing environment? Or is it a rigid, discipline - defined playing field? It is safe a welcoming and intimating and confronting does it welcome all voices, or does it make you want to shrink is it waiting for instruction and leadership or is it self directed with a common purpose  Culture as a Social Construct  Culture is a social construct not a genetic construct. This means that school culture is, therefore, something that we do not inherit or pass on through the genes. Rather, it is something that we create and shape. It is shaped by everything that all people in school see, hear, feel and interact with. It is a creation of the school head, teachers, parents, non- teaching staff students and community. Sean Slade (2014) elaborates:  Within a couple of minutes of walking into a school or a classroom, you can tell, define almost taste the culture that permeates that space. Is it an open, sharing environment? Or is it a rigid, discipline - defined playing field? It is safe a welcoming and intimating and confronting does it welcome all voices, or does it make you want to shrink is it waiting for instruction and leadership or is it self directed with a common purpose School and climate culture  How does school climate differ from culture? These terms are frequently used interchangeably but school climate is more relational; it is illustrated by the attitudes and behaviors of the school staff and is focused on the style of the school's organizational system. School climate refers to the school's effects on students, including teaching practices, diversity and the relationships among administrators, teachers, parents and students. School climate is driven by and reflected in daily interactions of staff, administration, faculty, students support staff and the outside community. (https:// www/slideshare.net/module)  School culture is a deeper level of reflection of shared values, beliefs, and traditions between staff members. School culture refers to the way teachers and other staff members work together and the set of beliefs, values and assumptions they share. (www.ascd.org./ research). School culture is a broader term and so is inclusive of school climate.  The Role of School Culture in Learning  School culture matters. Research confirms the central role of culture to school success. School culture can be positive or negative or toxic. A positive school culture fosters improvement, collaborative decision making, professional development and staff and student learning. A negative culture fosters the opposite.  Elements of a Positive Culture  As given in the Activity phase of this Lesson a positive school climate is characterized by the following:  1. Collegiality - The school atmosphere is friendly. You work in an atmosphere where responsibility and authority are shared by everyone. You can be yourself. You have not to put your best forward to impress others. The school head does not throw his/her weight. He/she does not make his/her authority felt by his/her colleagues.  2. Experimentation - The atmosphere encourages experimentation  Elements of a Positive Culture  As given in the Activity phase of this Lesson a positive school climate is characterized by the following:  1. Collegiality - The school atmosphere is friendly. You work in an atmosphere where responsibility and authority are shared by everyone. You can be yourself. You have not to put your best forward to impress others. The school head does not throw his/her weight. He/she does not make his/her authority felt by his/her colleagues.  2. Experimentation - The atmosphere encourages experimentation  and so will welcome mistakes as part of the learning process. No student, no teacher gets punished for a mistake. Mistakes are not intended. They give a lot of lesson. Referring to his 10,000 failed attempts then he was experimenting in the light bulb, Edison said: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.“  3. High expectations - It has been said one's level of achievement is always lower than one's level that aspiration. So set high expectations for high achievement. Two problems arise here. Robert J. Marzano warns us:  First, expectations are subtle and difficult to change. Teachers may be unaware that they have low expectations for some students; even when they become aware, they may have difficulty changing their expectations because their beliefs and biases have developed over the years.  Second, what actually communicates expectations to students is teacher behavior. If teachers consciously work to change their biases but don't change their behavior toward those students from whom they have tended to expect less, their change of attitude will have little effect on student achievement.  4. Trust and confidence - Students, teachers, school heads and parents relate well and work well when relationships are solidly built on trust and confidence. In fact, honest and open communication (# 12 in this list) is possible only when there is trust and confidence in each other in the school community. I can share my inner thoughts only when I am confident that I do not get ostracized when I do.  5. Tangible support - Everyone in the school community gets concrete support for the good that they do. Support comes in not just in words but in action. School head sees to it that LCDs in the classrooms are functioning.  6. Reaching out to the knowledge base - Teachers care to grow professionally to update themselves on content knowledge and pedagogy, the first domain in the Philippine Professional standards for teachers.  7. Appreciation and recognition - Certainly words of appreciation and recognition make classroom climate highly favorable. A reminder to teachers: "You are not made less when you praise others. Instead, you become magnanimous. So don't be stingy with your sincere praise. The problem sometimes is our eyes are so quick to see the negative and so we despise them immediately but our eyes are blinded to the good and so we overlook them and fail to appreciate.  8. Caring, celebration, humor - Kids don't care what you know until they know that you care. They don't listen to teacher when teacher doesn't care. It may be good to remind teachers that many of students, especially those who struggle, don't receive nearly enough positive feedback in the classroom or in their personal lives.  "When kids are taught with a proactive, praise-heavy approach, they tend to do better," says Erin Green of Boys Town. But be specific. Generic, overly generalized comments such as "Good job!" don't really help. Complimenting a specific behavior ("Thanks for showing respect to our visiting guest"), on the other hand, reinforces that particular behavior.  9. Involvement in decision making  Involving others who are concerned with decisions to be made enhances sense of ownership. They also feel important.  10. Protection of what is important -What schools consider important must form part of their tradition and so must be protected by all means. In the Activity above, mention was made on School Canteen Policies that include "no soft drinks, no chocolate etc." and CLAYGO because the school considers nutrition and health and cleanliness as important.  11. Traditions A school must have an intentional culture-based program on shared values, beliefs, and behaviors. This strengthens sense of community. A truly positive school culture is not characterized simply by the absence of gangs, violence or discipline problems but also by the presence of a set of norms and values that focus school community's attention on what is most important and motivate them to work hard toward a common purpose.  12. honest and open communication-No one gets ostracized for speaking up his mind. The atmosphere is such that everyone is encouraged to speak his mind without fear of being ostracized. The agreement at every discussion is "agree to disagree."  Shared Norms: Teacher and Student Norms  Shared norms for both teachers and students contribute to a positive school culture. Boss and Larmer (2018) share teacher norm and student norms to contribute to a fair and an engaging learning environment, a characteristic of a positive school culture. They check on the following norms each week. The teacher and the community , school culture and organizational leadership  Table 6.  Teacher Norms  1. Teach in different ways.  2. Call students by their names.  3. Care about students' feelings.  a. Understand their situation.  4. Have a good attitude.  a. Stay calm.  b. Use kind words.  c. Have patience.  d. Greet students and say good-bye.  5. Help students understand.  a. Work at a reasonable pace.  b. Explain clearly  c. Support different learning styles.  d. Expect the best.  e. Re-explain if necessary  6. Attend school the majority of the time.  7. Be respectful.  a. Give everyone what they need.  b. Use proper language.  c. Allow space if need  Student norm  1. Have a growth mindset.  a. Believe you can improve.  b. Fail forward.  c. Keep trying.  d. Speak positively about your abilities to  learn.  2. Call classmates by their names.  3. Be responsible for your work. a. Have materials ready. b. Advocate for yourself. c. Be a professional.  d. Meet deadlines. e. Participate.  f. Be on time to class.  4. Listen...  a. to the teacher.  b. to your classmates.  c. to guests.  d. to the directions.  5. Attend school the majority of the time.  6. Be a good team player.  a. Provide good, helpful feedback  b. Stay calm.  c. Encourage others.  d. Stay on topic.  e. Be considerate.  f. Use proper language.  g. Communicate clearly to students and  teacher(s).