SC HO OL W ORK CU LT URE

Productive School Culture:

Principals Working from the Inside
By Herbert Karpicke and Mary E. Murphy

States and school districts across the

developing new per-
country are

formance assessment instruments to evaluate teachers, using student

achievement as a factor. Principals are also being held accountable for
setting the conditions that result in a culture that produces excellence.

.S. educators are for ways to improve the performance of

looking
both schools and students. Former Secretary of Education William
Bennett concluded that what makes schools effective is &dquo;the princi-
pal of the thing.&dquo; While principals cannot improve student growth or
achievement alone, they do provide the leadership and support that translate
into an environment that results in increased productivity.
According to Kaufman and Herman (1991), organizations, like peo-
ple, have personalities, unique ways they do business, ways in which
employees work with each other and with the outside world.
Organizational culture is a composite of the values and beliefs of the peo-
ple within the organization. The values and beliefs that make up a success-
ful organization’s culture generally are shared by all members, and the
group operates within a common set of assumptions about the way things
are done.
According to Norris ( 1994), because a culture defines what is possi-
ble and not possible, people within the culture tend to view issues in a sim-

ilar manner. This is as true in schools as it is in society at large. As new

teachers become socialized into a school setting, they adopt the common
practices of the school.

Herbert Karpicke is principal of the High School for Performing and Visual Arts in the Houston (Tex.)
Independent School District; Mary E. Murphy is assistant superintendent for instructional/nonin-
structional development in the Houston Independent School District.
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17
Culture and the Principal
On the most basic level, things change when a new principal walks in the
door, although &dquo;change&dquo; in the early days of a principal’s tenure is more
related to climate than culture.
When school staff members hear about the appointment of a new
principal, rumors begin to circulate immediately. First, the new principal’s
personality is talked about and then his or her management style and lead-
ership potential. The new principal’s early conversations with staff members
are usually characterized by small talk and general
&dquo;acquaintancing&dquo; behav-
ior. Key people often seek his or her ear to suggest changes they would
like to see take place, or to hear the new person’s goals firsthand.
The new person’s first remarks set a tone for his or her administra-
tion. This is a time when everyone involved in the school is listening very
closely to all that is said. Memos and notes are analyzed and interpreted.
At this point, the principal should be learning about the school and its peo-
ple from both a climate and cultural perspective. It is a good idea for the
new principal to take a non-threatening posture,

thus laying a foundation of trust that will encourage

the school
While principals can-
community to accept him or her as a
&dquo;

&dquo;good fit.&dquo; not improve student

healthy culture that promotes student
A
growth or achievement
learning goes far beyond a healthy climate, which
may be described as a feeling tone, getting along, alone, they do provide
respect, or happiness in the work environment. A
the leadership and
positive climate is characterized by a comfortable,
orderly, and safe environment. A healthy culture, on
support that translate
the other hand, is one in which the purposes and
goals of the organization are understood by all into an environment
stakeholders. Productive work takes place that
that results in
results in movement toward the vision of the &dquo;can
be&dquo; (Lambert, 1988; Rosenholtz, 1989). increased productivity.
If elements of the cultural norm tend to con-
strain or &dquo;level down&dquo; efforts aimed at excellence,
those elements should be changed. The new principal must understand the
existing school culture in terms of its effect on student achievement and
make decisions about what must be changed to make improvements.
Much more research should be done in analyzing existing culture
in relation to student outcomes. As the old adage states: &dquo;If you don’t
know where you are going, any road will get you there.&dquo; In essence, one
culture is as good as another if the outcomes connected to culture are not
clearly understood. If cultural norms are standing in the way of student
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progress, however, those norms are not good for the school, and must be
changed.
shape school culture, Norris (1994) lists seven processes princi-
To
pals can use to begin to understand and work productively within an exist-
ing culture. They suggest how principals can and do work as change agents
in schools. According to Norris, successful principals:
1. Learn the existing culture
2. Tap into the formal and informal communication links of the school
3. Meet teacher needs and recognize accomplishments
4. Promote professional development
5. Create a learning community
6. Model their vision for the school
7. Hire the right people.
In addition, we believe the following three skills provide the basis
for principals to move forward in changing culture:
1. Listening. Principals who talk first and listen second (or worse yet,
are perceived as never listening at all) shut themselves off from receiving
true messages and stay culturally isolated. They are out of touch. Their
capacity to work from within the culture is limited at best. Listening princi-
pals know that each staff member is a player, each has a stake, and each
can provide valuable information about the working relationships and
norms within the school.
2. Responding. Listening, learning principals respond to what they have
heard in away that signals they were indeed listening and begins to reveal
what they think about what they have heard. Thoughtful responses create
more input, help direct the discussion, and enrich the cultural data base.

3. Questioning. Well-placed questions can provide two important ele-

ments : feedback and focused, clarified responses. Change-oriented princi-

pals learn from responses to questions. Formal survey instruments and ques-
tionnaires can be helpful, but cannot replace one-to-one responses &dquo;collect-
ed&dquo; in informal conversation. The fewer layers of administration the better
when collecting good cultural data from individuals in the organization.

Deciding on a Cultural Ideal

McSchool
What do you do once you understand the existing culture and you
have determined that change is necessary? You are tuned in, you know
where the points of resistance are, you know the key people and their roles
in perpetuating the cultural norms, you know the history of change and the
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attitudes and feelings connected with it. You know things need to move in
a new direction. Now, how do you work within the culture to make pro-
ductive change?
Before making decisions about what to do with the cultural data, a
principal needs a clear vision of the ideal state of affairs for the school from
a cultural point of view, and needs to believe deeply in moving in that
direction. Below are two contrasting analogies of
visions of schools from a cultural viewpoint to
demonstrate the kind of thinking principals do in
Before making deci-
this decision-making mode. sions about what to do
One school cultural model is akin to a net-
with the cultural data,
work of hamburger franchises. Teachers strive to
turn out the same product, taking direction from the a principal needs a
top, every movement prescribed. Efficiency is cele-
brated. Burger-flipping techniques, counting pickle clear vision of the
chips, and keeping the clients happy and coming ideal state of affairs
back for more are the significant values. The pre-
scribed and predictable hamburger franchise work for the school from a

culture keeps people productive and serves the fast-

cultural point of view,
food customer well. Predictability and uniformity
are the product goal values; variation is the enemy. and needs to believe
Attempting to create a culture of pure stan- deeply in moving in
dardization in the academic environment, however,
breaks down at the level of the nature and purpose that direction.
of the product. The more we believe in standardized
teacher behavior and student outcomes, the more
we will tend to envision the ideal school culture as a hamburger franchise.

The principal may ask, &dquo;How much standardization do I want to promote

as a cultural ideal?&dquo;

Spaceship Discovery
In another cultural model the school is a fleet of spaceships, each
on a voyage of discovery. Each classroom is led by a captain (the teacher)
having broad discretion with a single mandate, &dquo;Find a way to educate your
assigned part of the universe.&dquo;
Culture is different in this environment; there are fewer prescriptions
and more freedom to move and try. In this model, the principal is more like
NASA’s mission control director. When Apollo 13 reported, &dquo;Houston, we

have problem,&dquo; the &dquo;we&dquo; of that message was understood in mission con-
a

trol as &dquo;all of us on the ground as well as the astronauts in the capsule.&dquo;

When a teacher has a problem in the classroom, the principal becomes a
part of finding solutions.
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 In this environment of ideas and freedom to discover, product out-
comes are not as easily defined as in the fast-food business. Yet, the chal-
of
lenge shaping and
nurturing culture that educates young people rests
a

first with the principal-the admiral of the star fleet-in concert with the
captains-the teachers in each classroom. The principal asks, &dquo;How much
freedom do I want to promote as a cultural ideal?&dquo;
Each principal must imagine and decide the world toward which he
or she will work.

Moving Forward: Leadership Within the Culture

Culture is dynamic reality (Kaufman and Herman, 1991). It is a mistake,
a

therefore, believe that change in culture is accomplished solely by admin-

to
istrative fiat, program or schedule changes, or shuffling the bureaucracy,
although these actions are certainly legitimate. In addition, people possess
varying levels of readiness for change, as well as varying levels of belief that
change is necessary. To those worried about the risks of change, consider
that the future will arrive regardless of what we do, so why not do things
to make a better future?
Stories circulate among principals everywhere about the dramatic suc-
cesses and failures of change initiatives. Several principals we know have
been enormously successful in leading their schools The story of
to change.
these initiatives has led us to conclude that those who understood and
worked within the culture had far better success than those who did not.
The principals large secondary schools were in their fourth
of two
or fifth year and were interested in moving to some form of block sched-

ule. They read, studied, and spoke with colleagues about the pros and cons
of various plans. They both made some basic decisions about what would
be best for the students and school. Both announced their desire to imple-
ment block scheduling. One implementation was smooth and successful
while the other was controversial and created division among the staff and
parents. What was the difference?
The successful principal had numerous meetings, forums, brain-
storming sessions, and focus groups, and followed each session with writ-
ten communication about the progress of the initiative. The other principal

bypassed the input gathering and moved straight to typing up schedules.

Key faculty members and parents felt ramrodded and set up opposition to
the change.
Though the finished product of both schools looked nearly the
same, the principal who took the time to lead the input meetings devel-
oped the necessary trust to implement the change. The culture of both
schools was strong and required that change be discussed thoroughly and
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openly among the stakeholders. In the school where such discussions
took place, change appeared easy; in the other school it was perceived
by some on the outside that the faculty and parents were intransigent and

not ready for change. In our view, both schools could have had similar
results if the cultural requirements had been met through the leadership
of the principal.
In another example, a large middle level school in an upper middle
class neighborhood had become known as having a gang problem. Rumors
circulated in the residential areas surrounding the school that it was out of
control, that police were needed daily, guns and knives were prevalent, and
numerous fights and intimidation
kept the student population terrorized. At
the height of this problem, the principal was promoted and a new princi-
pal was appointed. It was generally perceived that this once-outstanding
school was going downhill fast. It was not the former principal’s fault; it
was just that gangs were taking over everywhere.

When we report that the new principal turned this school around in
less than a year, you might think that a get-tough policy of some sort was
implemented, complete with bullhorns and baseball bats. Quite the contrary.
The new principal studied and listened and discovered that his
school actually had one of the lowest incident report statistics of any in this
large urban district. Few fights took place. Those that did were relatively
minor and were handled appropriately by the assistant principals. No guns
had been confiscated in the previous year and only a knife or two had
found its way onto the campus. Gang graffiti appeared in the restrooms, but
this was quickly removed. Known gang members did attend the school, but
in small numbers.

Yes, there was a gang presence in the school, but the perception of
gang influence was way out of proportion. The principal looked for
answers: Why did the school have this reputation? Why did the perception

not fit the reality?

Hesoon found several starting points. First, he reinforced the exist-

ing behavior policy with all students. Gang activity of any sort would not
be tolerated. From the first day of school he walked the halls, meeting, lis-
tening to, and talking with students.
He met with parents and reassured them the reputation of the
school was going to change. He told them
exactly what the statistics were.
He encouraged parents him
personally if they heard of trouble
to contact
at the school, and said he would keep them informed about what was

going on. He solicited support throughout the community in dispelling

rumors by giving accurate information to those concerned. This would be

a safe school, he told them, and one in which students would

feel safe.
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 The most significant things the principal did were to become a ubiq-
uitous, visible entity, and to enlist personally the support of students, facul-
ty members, parents, and the surrounding neighbor-
hood. He stood outside at the main entrance every
day and greeted students and parents, never passing The most significant
up an opportunity repeat the message-we are in
to
the
control, this is a safe, friendly school, and we are
things principal
going to keep it that way. Assistant principals, coun- did were to become a
selors, and other staff members took up posts as
&dquo;greeters&dquo; in the morning and throughout the day.
ubiquitous, visible
Faculty and staff members began to reinforce posi- entity, and to enlist
tive messages and to respond more accurately to

inquiries about student behavior. personally the support

The culture of communication at this school of students, faculty
was word of mouth. The messages emanated from
the school through the students, faculty, and admin- members, parents, and
istration. This was the tradition. the surrounding neigh-
The new principal found that this informa-
tion network had been taken over by exaggerated, borhood.
sensational stories of how bad the students had
become. Over a period of several years, the neighborhood began to believe
the problems were much worse than they were, and they were not getting
any information from the school to the contrary.
By giving truthful, accurate, unexaggerated messages about student
behavior and using the existing communication network to encourage sup-
port the principal was able to work within the culture to rebuild the repu-
tation of the school. Many in the community believed that a major change
in student behavior had taken place, so strong was the belief in the accu-

racy of the earlier negative messages that had filtered through the neigh-
borhood communication network.

Improving Thinking
Bureaucratic thinking combines and mixes concepts of change, danger, and
risk.Courage, clarity, and intelligent hard work are required to analyze, sort,
separate, explain, and finally overcome this confusing thinking. The mean-
ing of data must be determined, planning done, and decisions made to
influence the dynamic cultural process in a positive, responsive way. When
fear is diminished, stakeholders perceive consistent, positive purpose, and
stories of results begin to enter the institutional psyche.
One helpful technique to improve thinking is to work from the high-
est levels of discourse. Analysis, synthesis, and evaluation should become

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&dquo;normal&dquo; in
general conversation about the current state and possibilities for
the future. Discourse about the knowledge, comprehension, and applica-
tion levels is certainly necessary, but not enough.
All stakeholders, from kitchen helpers and custodians through the
faculty, staff, parents, and the larger community can and should be engaged
and should be expected to contribute as a cultural norm, using the highest
levels of thinking and discourse.

Management Style
In cultures where major beliefs
equally shared, top-down management
are

may prevail. A monoculture could

perhaps abide a dictator, but monocul-
tures rarely existin schools. A dictatorial management style can also result
when management confronts challenge. If culture could be prescribed and
dictated from the outside, perhaps top-down management style would suf-
fice, but culture is an inside-out phenomenon. It involves beliefs, rituals,
philosophies, and norms of interaction (Kaufman and Herman, 1991).
Minds and hearts must be won before culture will change.
Neither can beliefs be mandated. Suggesting that a cultural norm
should be built on a phrase such as &dquo;all children can learn,&dquo; for example,
is a direct affront
the belief systems of many stakeholders in education.
to
Norris (1994) cautions that changing culture &dquo;is a lengthy process which
takes understanding, patience, human relations skills, and the ability to
communicate. Changing the culture involves changing habits of mind,
body, and
spirit ... &dquo; (p. 4).
Adopting new norms also requires proof. &dquo;All children can learn&dquo; at
some point must get to &dquo;all children do learn,&dquo; or the phrase loses mean-

ing : it becomes an empty platitude; it is not believable and sustainable with-

out movement in the right direction.
Before you speak and act passionately from deeply held beliefs, you
are either beating around the bush, testing the waters, playing safe, or sup-

porting the status quo. You are not likely to generate anything except more
of the same with the possible exception of confusion.
Forthright speech and action are challenging. Courage is required,
especially where entrenchment is the target. Questions and counter-chal-
lenges should be expected. Your strongest allies are your skills in clear
thinking, diplomacy, good judgment, fairness, and consistency. These are
the talents for which you were hired.
When you know where you must go, therefore, scope out the land
and select possible paths. Be careful not to set snares and traps for your-
self. Above all, choose your battles wisely and do not attempt to fight on
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every front at the same time. Remember that strong, experienced people in
the school community have comfort zones of discourse and deference.
These zones are formal and informal and sometimes are not related to offi-

cial position. They should be respected. They should not be penetrated

naively or cavalierly. Create allies, not enemies!

As a leader you stand for things. If you have no vision, lead-
must

ership will be assumed by those who do. If your vision is unclear or poor-
ly articulated, confusion-even chaos-will result. You must have well-
developed &dquo;people skills&dquo; and be able to use them wisely.
It is not enough to be a facilitator or consensus builder and be able
to work within and ultimately shape a culture toward more productivity.

Every action taken is interpreted through the cultural filter whether the
action is backed by clear thinking or not. Principals’ responses and reactions
carry great weight. They are quickly analyzed and interpreted in the school,
not unlike the way the news media dissect the president’s actions and

speeches.
The more you know your values and have the passion and courage
to live them, the more you will be able to be a positive influence on behalf
of students in the cultural environment. -B

References
Gleaue, D. "Changing School Culture Through Transactional Education."
Journal of Staff Development, Spring 1994.
Kaufman, R., and Herman, J. Strategic Planning in Education. Lancaster,
Pa.: Technomic, 1991.

Lambert, L. G. "Building School Culture: An Open Letter to Principals."

NASSP Bulletin, March 1988.

Norris, J. H. "What Leaders Need To Know About School Culture." Journal

of Staff Development, Spring 1994.
Rosenholtz, S. J. Teachers’ Workplace. New York: Longman, 1989.

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