LIVING WATER ESSENTIAL COLLEGE INC

(Formerly Javier E. Garde Essential Colleges Inc.)

VALUES, ARTS AND LANGUAGE SCHOOL
PALOMARIA, BONGABON, NUEVA ECIJA

LESSON TITLE: The Meaning of School Culture

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. explain the meaning of school culture;
2. discuss how the school culture affects learning; and
3. 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
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.

Concept Note:
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 quality 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 culture”. (Sophier, J.1985)

A positive school culture can be defined broadly to include (Character Education Partnership, 2010):
• social climate, including a safe and caring environment in which all students feel welcomed and valued, and
have a sense of ownership of their school; this helps students in their moral development
• intellectual climate, in which all students in every classroom are supported and challenged to do their very best
and achieve work of quality; this includes a rich, rigorous and engaging curriculum, and a powerful pedagogy
for teaching it
• rules and policies that hold all school members accountable to high standards of learning and behaviour
• traditions and routines built from shared values that honour and reinforce the school’s academic and social
standards
• structures for giving staff and students a voice in, and shared responsibility for, solving problems and making
decisions that affect the school environment and their common life
• ways of effectively working with parents to support students’ learning and character growth
• norms for relationships and behaviours that create a professional culture of excellence and ethical practice.

STUDENT’S ACTIVITY
Direction: Answer the following questions according to your understanding.
1. What is school culture?
2. How does school culture affect learning?
3. Cite ways by which you can contribute building of positive culture.

THE TEACHER AND THE COMMUNITY, SCHOOL CULTURE AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP