Creating A Positive School Culture PDF

CREATING A POSITIVE SCHOOL CULTURE  Objective: At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:  Understand 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.  WHAT IS...

CREATING A POSITIVE SCHOOL CULTURE  Objective: At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:  Understand 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.  WHAT IS SCHOOL 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 the 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.  School culture:  School culture is one of the most complex and important concepts in education. It generally refers to the belief, perceptions, relationship, attitudes and written and unwritten rules that shape and influence every aspect of how a school function.  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 ( Nov, 23,2017 ), school culture consist of the norm and shares experiences that evolve over school’s history.  In fact Scott and Marzano ( 2014 ), state the “school culture is reinforced by norms, expectations and traditions, including everything from dress codes to discipline system to celebration of achievement.  Therefore it may described as the character of a school that gives a school qualities beyond its structures, resources and practices.  Culture as a Social Construct  Culture is a social construct not a genetics 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. 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. It is an open, sharing environment? Or is it a rigid, discipline, defined playing field? It is safe and welcoming, or intimidating and confronting? Does it welcome all voices, or does it make you want to shrink? Is it waiting for  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.  12 Elements of a positive Culture 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 encourage 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 3. High expectation: It has been said one’s level of achievement is always lower that one’s level that aspiration. So set high expectation for high achievement. 4. Trust and confidence: Students, teachers, school heads and parents relate well and work well when relationship are solidly built on trust and confidence. In fact, honest and open communication 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 is 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 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 other. 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. 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. 9. Involvement in decision making: Involving others who are concerned with decision to be with decisions to be made enhances sense of ownership. They also feel 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. The strengthens sense of community. A truly positive school culture is not characterized simply by the absence 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 without fear being ostracized. The agreement at every discussion is “ agree to disagree”. Teacher and students Norms: Share norms for both teachers and students contribute to a positive school culture. Boss and Larmer (2018) share teacher norms and students 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. TEACHER NORMS: STUDENTS NORMS: 1. Teach in different ways. 1. Have a growth mindset. 2. Call students by their names a. Believe you can improve 3. Care about students feelings b. Fail forward a. Understand their situation c. Keep trying 4. Have a good attitude. d. Speak positively about your a. Stay calm abilities to learn. b. Use kind words 2. Call classmates by their names. c. Have patience 3. Be responsible for your work. d. Greet students and say good- a. Have materials ready bye b. Advocate for yourself 5. Help students understand. c. Be a professional a. Work at a reasonable pace d. Meet deadlines b. Explain clearly e. Participate c. Support different learning f. Be on time class styles 4. Listen. d. Expect the best a. to the teachers e. Re-explain if necessary b. Stay calm 6. Attend school the majority of the c. Encourage others time. d. Stay on topic 7. Be respectful e. Be considerate a. Give everyone what they need f. Use proper language b. Use proper language g. Communicate clearly to c. Allow space if needed stydents and teachers. d. Use supportive words when THANK YOU!