Everything that goes on in a school is a function of the school’s culture. (Gruenert, Whitaker)

In his 2017 study, Transforming School Culture, Anthony Muhammad makes some insightful observations on the characteristics of teachers who have the most positive influence on school culture and, therefore, on student learning. These teachers, he found, differed from “other educators [who] were very strict with school rules, grading procedures, seating arrangements, and other similar issues.” The most effective teachers, he observes:

“Sought to individualize their responses to students instead of adopting a rigid approach to student relations….  [They] generally had high expectations for student conduct, but they chose to use nonpunitive measures more often than punitive measures. When behavior issues arose, they relied heavily on student loyalty, which they gained through positive personal relationships. Students seemed to lament the fact that they disappointed an advocate instead of rejoicing over whatever personal pleasure they gained through the conduct violation.”

In essence, the relationships that these teachers developed created a culture in which students could flourish. The impact of school culture on learning cannot be underestimated and it represents the most important work that school leaders must engage in. Edgar Schein suggests that working with culture is the core focus of leadership: “The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture and the [critical work] of leaders is their ability to work with culture.” Michael Fullan has long championed the critical importance of transforming school culture and writes extensively on the topic. His perspective is also clear: “Structure does make a difference, but it is not the main point of achieving success. Transforming the culture – changing the way we do things around here – is the main point.” Levin and Shrum’s study echoes this perspective: “Leaders that … appreciate the power of school culture … create … cultures in which meaningful teamwork based on trust is the primary force of professional learning and continuous improvement.” This trust must be centred on a conviction that what we are doing is ultimately in the best interest of students.

If we want learners to be creative, ethical, healthy individuals who contribute meaningfully to the world around them, we need school cultures that create the environment in which these things will happen. Such an environment is revealed through the interactions of the adults and children in a school. Culture is fundamentally about relationships. A healthy culture is immediately discernible, though perhaps difficult to define: “A collaborative culture feels a bit like family: Although individuals may not always get along, they will support each other when push comes to shove. A collaborative culture is a strong culture in which most people are on the same page.” (Gruenert, Whitaker) A collaborative culture also leads to higher levels of trust and respect among colleagues and translates to improved student learning and wellbeing. 

In his book, At What Cost?: Defending Adolescent Development In Fiercely Competitive Schools, psychologist David L. Gleason reminds us of the wisdom of a colleague’s words. We are responsible for the cultures that we create. Most educators believe that schools should be places of joy, this is why they enter the profession. Yet schools can become sidetracked into focusing on what students are not allowed to do, rather than on what they can do; they highlight the limitations of learners, rather than their potential. In such cultures, it is not uncommon to hear generalizations about entire groups of students. So, what has gone wrong? Gleason sums it up thus:

“In our shared efforts to educate and provide for our teenagers as effectively as we can … we seem to have gone too far. We have put the educational cart before the developmental horse and, in so doing, have lost sight of key aspects of our most important responsibility: to foster our teenagers’ healthy growth and development, which includes their sound and balanced education. Not only is that what our students expect of us, that is what we, their educators and their parents, collectively, at our most basic human level, want to give them.”

Muhammad highlights the difference between a healthy school culture and a toxic one. In a positive school culture, he believes, “educators have an unwavering belief in the ability of all their students to achieve success, and they pass that belief on to others in overt and covert ways.” Belief in students is the essence of successful school cultures and lays the foundation to create environments in which learners flourish. Muhammad describes a toxic culture as one in which, “educators believe that student success is based on students’ level of concern, attentiveness, prior knowledge, and willingness to comply with the demands of the school, and they articulate that belief in overt and covert ways.” Such schools are dominated by policies and procedures that reveal an intrinsic belief that students are a problem to be managed and controlled.

Effective schools are characterized by one central truth. Their purpose is clearly centred on individual learner needs and therefore must, by their very nature, be personal. Students need a voice, a choice, a say in what they are learning. A healthy school culture is not about rigid rules or discipline obsession and it always puts the student first. Schools exist for children, not adults. Compliance is the enemy of culture. As Grunert and Whitaker rightly contend, “If our goal is to improve student behavior, then … it requires us to improve adult behavior.” It is relatively easy to force students to behave in prescribed ways, but it is actually how adults behave in their constructive interactions with students and with one another that truly shapes school culture. In order for students and teachers to thrive, caring and respectful relationships are vital. A healthy, open collaborative culture is the context that makes learning possible and it should be evident in the interactions between all members of a school community.

As David Price describes it, school culture is perhaps the most critical aspect of the environment needed in order for learners to flourish: “It encompasses the ‘ecology’ of learning: the relationships we have with each other; the creation of an hospitable habitat for learning; how we cultivate the evolution of learning in communal, social environments, to transfer it successfully to others, establishing a set of commonly-agreed principles which will make learning inclusive and innovative.”

Everything that goes on in a school is a function of the school’s culture. As Grunert and Whitaker put it, “Culture always wins. And when a positive culture wins, so do our students.”

Notes
Muhammad, Anthony. Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division. Solution Tree Press, 2017.
Fullan, Michael. Leading in a Culture of Change. 2007.
Levin, Barbara B.  &  Schrum, Lynne. Leading 21st-Century Schools: Harnessing Technology for Engagement and Achievement. 2009.
Gruenert, Steve & Whitaker, Todd. School Culture Rewired. 2015.
Price, David. OPEN: How We’ll Work, Live and Learn in the Future. Crux Publishing, 2013.
Gleason, David L. At What Cost?: Defending Adolescent Development In Fiercely Competitive Schools. Developmental Empathy LLC, 2017.
Gruenert, Steve & Whitaker, Todd. School Culture Recharged: Strategies to Energize Your Staff and Culture. ASCD, 2017.