Week 26 Current issues in my professional context

How can you maintain the school's culture during a changing climate, or is change a good thing?

School culture vs climate

I work at an independent, co-educational school, located in a high decile area. Many of our students are from affluent families, but there is also a large number of families who work exceptionally hard to pay for private schooling or rely on scholarships and family members to fund their education. The school was founded in 1991 as a primary school and has since grown to a role of around 850 students from new entrants to Y13.  

Schein (1985) explains that school culture is the beliefs shared by those within an organisation; it is situationally unique to the school. Stoll (1998) adds that a school’s culture consists of the customs, rituals, and stories that are evident and valued throughout the whole school. This differs from the school climate, which is more about the feel of the school - what you witness when you visit and what is evident when you walk around the halls and classrooms. Whilst both involve the community, culture is seen to be deeper and is heavily influenced by the schools' values, how the school does things and how members treat each other. 

The school's values are a core part of what makes up the culture. 

Schein (1985) identifies 5 things that shape the culture of a school. 

1. Age - the school is still relatively new, The founding principal has just left this term. This influence has directed the school throughout and remained fairly constant. Her vision of a school, located in park-like surroundings with small class sizes and academic excellence is one that is constantly referred to. The guiding principles are clear, concise and regularly reinforced. 

2. External context - the school community have a strong idea about what a 'real school' is. Parents are vocal in their high expectations of staff and of their own children. A recent survey of our parents (2016) found that academic excellence was the main reason they selected the school. The Cambridge curriculum is a big part of that. This often causes conflict however, when staff attempt to move away from 'the norm' and parents are wary of new ideas as it is far from what they experienced when they were at school. 

3. School area - As the school is across all year groups this can create conflicts between school areas. Each area of the school (primary, junior and senior college) has different priorities. The school has tried hard to create a unified staff and student body but more needs to be done in this area. The one theme that does permeate throughout is the sense of family. The school uses a triangle to explain the relationship between staff, parents and students - this is consistently upheld across each area and is a recurring theme within our school culture. 90% of parents agree that school values are reflected positively by staff and students. 97% of staff feel as though there is a welcoming and supportive culture within the school. 

4. Social class - As previously mentioned, the main student body is from a fairly affluent background. This influences the schools culture immensely. Staff work hard to give students a broad range of experiences that help students see what the 'real world' is like. It is important to staff to eradicate any sense of entitlement and allow the students to develop skills that they will need once they leave school.

5. Changes in society - Our area of Auckland is changing rapidly. The ethnic make up of the surrounding area, as well as our internationally recognised qualifications have led to a rapid increase in the amount of students from Chinese and Korean backgrounds. As yet, this has has little effect in the existing culture but it will be interesting to see if this does have an impact. 

The biggest change for us as a school is yet to come. With the founding principal on the way out and an external candidate taking up the role this term, it will be fascinating to see if any changes occur. In the video made by Academy for SELinSchools, it is highlighted that one of the main influences on culture is the staff; staff stay put whilst students travel through. A new leader is likely to create a period of uncertainty; during this time is is important that staff have a clear idea of the school culture in order to maintain the positive climate that we currently experience. 


References 

Academy for SELinSchools. ( 2015, Apr 28).What is school culture and climate? [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-_NvhlcusQ 

Schein, E.H. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 

Stoll. (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture