CREATING A POSITIVE SCHOOL CULTURE

School culture matters. This influences to a great extent how well students
perform. School culture is a 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.

The Meaning of School Culture

School culture is one of the most complex and important concepts in education.
It generally refers to the beliefs, perceptions, relationships, attitudes and written and
unwritten rules that shape and influence every aspect of a how a school functions.
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 the school embraces racial, ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity.

According to Spacey, school culture consists of the norms and shared

experiences that evolve ever 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 the
culture.”

Culture As A Social Construct

Culture is a social construct not a genetic construct. This means that the school
culture is, therefore something that we do not inherit or pass on through the genes.
Rather, it is something that we create and shape. It is shaped by everything that all
people in school hear, see, feel and interact with. It is the creation of the school head,
teachers, parents, nonteaching staffs, students, and the community. Sean Slade (2014)
elaborates:

Within a couple of minutes of walking into a school or a classroom, you can tell,
define almost taste the culture that permeates that space. Is it an open, sharing
environment? Or is it a rigid, discipline-defined playing field? It is safe welcoming, or
intimidating and confronting? Does it welcome all voices or does it make you want to
shrink? Is it waiting for instruction and leadership or is it self-directed with a common
purpose?

School Climate and School Culture

How does school climate differ from culture? These terms are frequently used
interchangeably but school climate is more relational; it is illustrated by the attitudes and
behaviors of the school staff and is focused on the style of the school’s organizational
system. School climate refers to the school’s effects on the students, including teaching
practices, diversity and relationships among administrators, teachers, parents and
students. School climate is driven by and reflected in daily interactions of staff,
administration, faculty, students support staff, and the outside community.

School culture is deeper level of reflection of shared values, beliefs, and

traditions between staff members. School culture refers to the way teachers and other
staff members work together and the set of beliefs, values and assumptions they share.
School culture is a broader term and so is inclusive of school climate.

The Role of School Culture in Learning

Research confirms the central role of culture to school success. School culture
can be positive or negative or toxic. A positive school culture fosters improvement,
collaborative decision making, professional development and staff and student learning.
A negative culture fosters the opposite.

Elements of a Positive Culture

1. Collegiality – The school atmosphere is friendly. You work in an atmosphere

where responsibility and authority are shared by everyone. You can be
yourself. You have not to put yourself best forward to impress others. The
school head does not throw his/her weight. He/she does make his/her
authority felt by his/her
colleagues.
2. Experimentation – The atmosphere encourages experimentation and so will
welcome mistakes as part of the learning process. No student, no teacher
gets punished for a mistake. Mistakes are not intended. They give a lot of
lesson. Referring to his 10,000 failed attempts then he was experimenting in
the light bulb, Edison sad: “I have not failed. I’ve just found ten thousand
ways that won’t work.”
3. High expectations – it has been said one’s level of achievement is always
lower than one’s level that aspiration. So set high expectations for high
achievement. Two problems arise here, Robert J. Manzano warns us:
First, expectations are subtle and difficult to change. Teachers may be unaware
that they have low expectations for some students; even when they become
aware, they may have difficulty in changing their expectations because their
beliefs and biases have developed over the years.
Second, what actually communicates expectations to student is teacher
behavior. If teachers consciously work to change their biases but don’t change
their behavior toward those students from whom they have tended to expect
less, their change of attitude will have little effect on student achievement.
4. Trust and confidence – Students, teachers, and school heads and parents relate
well and work well when relationships are solidly built on trust and confidence. in
fact, honest and open communication is possible only when there is trust and
confidence in each other in the school community. I can share my inner thoughts
only when I am confident that I do not get ostracized when I do.
5. Tangible support – Everyone in the school community gets concrete support for
the good that they do. Support comes in not just in words but in action. School
head sees to it that LCDs in the classrooms are functioning.
6. Reaching out to the knowledge base – Teachers care to grow professionally to
update themselves to content knowledge and pedagogy, the first domain the
Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers.
7. Appreciation and recognition – Certainly words of appreciation and recognition
make classroom climate highly favorable. A reminder to teachers: “You are not
made less when you praise others. Instead, you become magnanimous. So
don’t be stingy with your sincere praise. The problem sometimes is our eyes are
so quick to see the negative and so we despise them immediately but our eyes
are blinded to the good and so we overlook them and fail to appreciate.
8. Caring, celebration, humor – Kids don’t care what you know until they know that
you care. They don’t listen to the teacher when teacher doesn’t care. It may be
good to remind teachers that many of the students, especially those who
struggle, don’t receive nearly enough positive feedback in the classroom or in
their personal lives.
9. Involvement in decision making - Involving others who are concerned with
decisions to be made enhances sense of ownership. They also feel important.
 10. Protection of what is important – What schools consider important must form
part of their tradition and so must be protected by all means. In a school canteen
policy that include “no soft drinks, no chocolate etc” and Clean as You Go
because the school considers nutrition and health and cleanliness as important.
11. Traditions – A school must have an intentional culture-based program on shred
values, beliefs, and behaviors. This strengthens sense of community. A truly
positive school culture is not characterized simply absence of gangs, violence or
discipline problems but also by the presence of a set of norms and values that
focus school community’s attention on what is most important and motivate them
to work hard toward a common purpose.
12. Honest and open communication – No ne gets ostracized for speaking up his
mind. The atmosphere is such that everyone is encouraged to speak his mind
without fear of being ostracized. The agreement to every discussion is “agree or
disagree.”

Shared Norms: Teacher and Student Norms

Shared norms for both teachers and students contribute to a positive school
culture contribute to fair and an engaging learning environment. They check on the
following norms each week.

Teacher Norms Student Norms

1. Teach in different ways 1. Have a growth mindset

2. Call students by their names a) believe you can improve
3. Care about student’s feelings b) fail forward
a) Understand their situation c) keep trying
4. Have a good attitude d. speak positively about your
a) Stay calm abilities to learn
 b) Use kind words 2. Call classmates by their
names
c) Have patience 3. Be responsible for your work
d) Greet students and say good-bye a) have materials ready

5. Help students understand b) advocate for your self

a) Work at a reasonable pace c) be a professional
b) Explain clearly d) meet deadlines
c) Support different learning styles e) participate
d) Expect the best f) be on time to class
e) Re-explain if necessary 4. Listen
6. Attend school the majority of the time a) to the teacher
7. Be respectful b) to your classmates
a) Give everyone what they need c) to guests
b) Use proper language d) to the directions
c) Allow space if needed 5. Attend school the majority of

d) Use supportive words when explaining the time

e) Call by your name 6. Be a good team player
8. Have a growth mindset a) provide good helpful feed

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b) stay calm
c) encourage others
d) stay on topic
e) be considerate
f) use proper language
g) communicate clearly to
students and teachers