THE TEACHER AS SCHOOL CULTURE CATALYST

SCHOOL CULTURE

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. Simply put, someone might describe a
school’s culture as ‘the way we do things here’. (Read more about school culture at
https://www.teach.nsw.edu.au/documents/OTTOP_reading_1.3.pdf)

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SCHOOL CULTURE?

Most principals have an instinctive awareness that organizational culture is a key element of school
success. They might say their school has a “good culture” when teachers are expressing a shared vision and
students are succeeding — or that they need to “work on school culture” when several teachers resign or
student discipline rates rise. 

Culture Is Connections

A culture will be strong or weak depending on the interactions between the people in the organization,
she said. In a strong culture, there are many, overlapping, and cohesive interactions among all
members of the organization.  As a result, knowledge about the organization’s distinctive character — and
what it takes to thrive in it — is widely spread and reinforced. In a weak culture, sparse interactions
make it difficult for people to learn the organization’s culture, so its character is barely noticeable and
the commitment to it is scarce or sporadic.

 Beliefs, values, and actions will spread the farthest and be tightly reinforced when everyone is
communicating with everyone else. In a strong school culture, leaders communicate directly with
teachers, administrators, counselors, and families, who also all communicate directly with each
other.
 A culture is weaker when communications are limited and there are fewer connections. For example,
if certain teachers never hear directly from their principal, an administrator is continually excluded
from communications, or any groups of staff members are operating in isolation from others, it will
be difficult for messages about shared beliefs and commitments to spread. 

Culture Is Core Beliefs and Behaviors

Within that weak or strong structure, what exactly people believe and how they act depends on the
messages — both direct and indirect — that the leaders and others in the organization send. A good culture
arises from messages that promote traits like collaboration, honesty, and hard work.

Culture is shaped by five interwoven elements, each of which principals have the power to influence: 

1. Fundamental beliefs and assumptions, or the things that people at your school consider to be true.
For example: “All students have the potential to succeed,” or “Teaching is a team sport.”
2. Shared values, or the judgments people at your school make about those belief and assumptions —
whether they are right or wrong, good or bad, just or unjust. For example: “It’s wrong that some of
our kindergarteners may not receive the same opportunity to graduate from a four-year college,” or
“The right thing is for our teachers to be collaborating with colleagues every step of the way.” 
3. Norms, or how members believe they should act and behave, or what they think is expected of them.
For example: “We should talk often and early to parents of young students about what it will take for
 their children to attend college.” “We all should be present and engaged at our weekly grade-level
meetings.”
4. Patterns and behaviors, or the way people actually act and behave in your school. For example:
There are regularly-scheduled parent engagement nights around college; there is active participation
at weekly team curriculum meetings. (But in a weak culture, these patterns and behaviors can be
different than the norms.)
5. Tangible evidence, or the physical, visual, auditory, or other sensory signs that demonstrate the
behaviors of the people in your school. For example: Prominently displayed posters showcasing the
district’s college enrollment, or a full parking lot an hour before school begins on the mornings when
curriculum teams meet.

LEVELS OF CULTURE

The following diagram helps us imagine the school as being comprised of layers resembling an
onion. The surface layer represents the operational level of the school. This is the level of school life which
one experiences on walking into a school building, seeing children on their way to class etc.

WORKING WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS

In education, the term stakeholder typically refers to anyone who is invested in the welfare and
success of a school and its students, including administrators, teachers, staff members, students, parents,
families, community members, local business leaders, and elected officials such as school board members,
city councilors, and state representatives. Stakeholders may also be collective entities, such as local
businesses, organizations, advocacy groups, committees, media outlets, and cultural institutions, in addition
to organizations that represent specific groups, such as teachers unions, parent-teacher organizations, and
associations representing superintendents, principals, school boards, or teachers in specific academic
disciplines.  In a word, stakeholders have a “stake” in the school and its students, meaning that they have
personal, professional, civic, or financial interest or concern.
 The stakeholders play an important role in managing schools. They are the partners of the school
leaders in making the schools conducive to teaching and learning.
It cannot be denied that the main focus of the teaching-learning activities in schools is the child. The
ultimate goal of the vision and mission of the vision and mission of schools is to develop the child to acquire
lifelong learning and skills.
In crafting the School Improvement Plan, stakeholders are members of the working committee who looks
into their involvement in making the school conducive to learning. They are also responsible for the
achievement of the learning outcomes through their active participation in school activities, programs and
projects.
The external stakeholders are included as members of the evaluating team, to evaluate the SBM level of
practice.
School heads are empowered by virtue of RA 9155 also known as the Basic Education Act of 2001, where
school heads/ leaders can make innovations on the strategies and techniques to raise the school performance.
Stakeholders are also empowered so that they can do something in school for the benefit of the learners
provided that it does not involved gambling and other forms of it.
We have to build harmonious relationship (school-community) because the stakeholders are now in the
integral part of the school system. We have to strengthen the development of linkages between the school
and the community to win their support. We would be able to get their full support if they could see changes
or improvements in our schools.

REFORM

The idea of a “stakeholder” intersects with many school-reform concepts and strategies—such
as leadership teams, shared leadership, and voice—that generally seek to expand the number of people
involved in making important decisions related to a school’s organization, operation, and academics. 
Stakeholders may also play a role in community-based learning, which refers to the practice of
connecting what is being taught in a school to its surrounding community, which may include local history,
literature, and cultural heritages, in addition to local experts, institutions, and natural
environments. Community-based learning is also motivated by the belief that all communities have intrinsic
educational assets that educators can use to enhance learning experiences for students, so stakeholders are
necessarily involved in the process.

SCHOOL STAKEHOLDERS

School administrators
School administrators, who monitor the implementation of the curriculum, play a vital role in
structuring and developing the school and students. Furthermore, they are responsible for the purchasing of
learning materials which are essential for curriculum implementation. They are usually informed by
teachers, students, and the community about the success of their curriculum.  They can also employ the
services of professional for evaluating the performance of the curriculum.

Parents
Parents influence the implementation of the curriculum by playing a vital role in monitoring the
lessons taught at schools, filling the gap between their children and the school administration by providing
various resources which are not available in school. Teachers often take help of parents for monitoring the
social and behavioral development of a child, especially for special educational needs.
Professionals
Psychologists and social workers are known for their contribution towards special schools and their
children. These stakeholders provide useful options for dealing with students of foreign origin or those with
disabilities. Often acting as school board members, community members are usually seen contributing to the
various resources which are not found at school premises.
Government and the professional regulation commission are other stakeholders providing a license to
graduates of different universities and colleges.

THE TEACHER AS ORGANIZATIONAL LEADER

WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Organizational leadership is a management approach in which leaders help set strategic goals for the
organization while motivating individuals within the group to successfully carry out assignments in service
to those goals.

TEACHER LEADERSHIP

Teacher leadership is a term used in K-12 schools for classroom educators who simultaneously take
on administrative roles outside of their classrooms to assist in functions of the larger school system. Teacher
leadership tasks may include but are not limited to: managing teaching, learning, and resource allocation.
Teachers who engage in leadership roles are generally experienced and respected in their field which can
both empower them and increase collaboration among peers.
In these types of school environments, teachers are able to make decisions based on the work they do
directly with students. When a school system places the decision-making on the teachers, the action is
happening one level closer to the people who are most closely impacted by the decisions (generally the
students and the teachers), rather than two or more levels above at the principal, superintendent, or school
board level.

The extent to which teacher leaders adopt additional roles varies in degree and description:

Administration leadership (traditional school leadership/educational leadership):

Administrative staff carries out the majority of the leadership duties.
Teacher networks (professional learning community/professional community/networked
improvement communities/community of practice/distributed leadership):
All teachers collectively take on decision-making roles about curriculum and school climate. This practice is
facilitated by and supported by an administrative leader.
Teacher leaders (instructional leadership/instructional coaches):
Some teachers take on individual leadership roles that directly impact educational practices under the
leadership of a school administrator.
Teacher co-ops (teacher-powered schools/teacher-led schools/worker cooperative/professional
partnerships/teacherpreneurs):
All teachers collectively take on leadership and administrative tasks that would traditionally be done by a
principal or administrative team