The School as a

Cultural Institution
School History and
Stories
A school mission, vision, values, rituals,
traditions, and ceremonies, are all elements of
the culture that are current and happening in the
present. When discussing the history and
stories of an organization, the past is being
presented (Confeld, 2016).

Peterson and Deal (2009) shared that learning

from past mistakes and successes is vital to
creating and maintaining a positive school
culture
School Artifacts,
Architecture, and Symbols
• These three school artifacts, architecture, and
symbols are the key to create and sustain a
positive school culture.
• The symbols and artifacts and symbols are the
tangible objects that represent the intangible
values and beliefs of the school (Peterson and
Deal, 2009).
• Confeld (2016) claimed that physical environment
of the school building and the surrounding area
are essential in influencing how individuals think
and feel about what is valued.
• Displaying student’s colorful artwork, awards and
the values of the school can be enough to
support individuals in feeling optimistic and happy
about being at school (Peterson and Deal, 2009).
 Levels of School
Culture

Starrat (1993) crafted a diagram that might help

us imagine the school as being comprised of
layers resembling an onion. The outer
represents the operational level of the school.
This is the level of school building, seeing
children on their way to class. etc.
• Underneath that layer is the organizational
level of the school. This layer is made up of all
those organizing structures of the school such
as the weekly schedule of classes.
• The next layer is made up of the programs of
the school. This includes various components
of the academic program, as well as the
extracurricular programs.
• Under the program layer, is the policy layer. It
is here that we find the policies by which the
school is run.
• Beneath that layer, we find goals and
purposes level. Here we find the general goals
of the school.
• Nearing the center or core of the onion, we
find the level of belief and assumptions. Here
would be what might be called school’s tacit
educational platform.
• At the core of the diagram, sometimes
flowing into the layer of beliefs and
assumptions, are the myths and the
meanings by which people make sense
out of their lives, by which they define
value, by which human striving is to be
judged, which help to place oneself in a
definable order of things.

• In that core of myth, meaning, and belief

that leaders find the grounding for their
vision of what the school might or ought
to become.
 Assessing School
Culture
• In assessing culture within your school,
you may use the instrument developed by
Gruenert and Valentine (2015). The
Culture Typology Survey allows individual
to recognize and rate the degree to which
he or she observes and engages in certain
behaviors within the school environment.

• This activity is not judging the culture of

the school , but rather allowing the
individuals to tabulate actions at the
school.
There are twelve key aspects of school:

1. Student Achievement
2. Collegial Awareness
3. Shared values
4. Decision-making
5. Risk taking
6. Trust
7. Openness
8. Parent relations
9. Leadership
10.Communication
11.Socialization
12.Organization history
Six types of school cultures:

1. Toxic
2. Fragmented
3. Balkanized
4. Contrived-Collegial
5. Comfortable-Collaborative
6. Collaborative
 Toxic School Cultures
• School culture is the underlying set of
norms, values, traditions, ceremonies, and
unwritten rules of behavior, action, and
thinking.
• Toxic school cultures lack of a mission and
vision, value laziness and apathy, appreciate
separateness and exclusivity, and have
negative peer relationships (Peterson,2002).
According to Peterson (2002), schools
with negative or toxic culture:

1. Lack a clear sense of purpose.

2. Have norms that reinforce inertia.
3. Blame students for lack of progress.
4. Discourage collaboration.
5. Often have actively hostile relations
among staff.
Moreover, in toxic cultures, staff:
1. View students as the problem rather than
as their valued clients.
2. Are sometimes part of negative
subcultures that are hostile and of critical
change.
3. Believe they are doing the best they can
and do not search out new ideas.
4. Frequently share stories and historical
perspectives on the school are often
negative, discouraging, and demoralizing.
5. Complain, criticize, and distrust any new
ideas, approaches, or suggestions for
improvement raised by planning
committees.
6. Rarely share ideas, materials, or solutions
to classroom problems.
7. Have few ceremonies or school traditions
that celebrate what is good and hopeful
about their place of work.
These school are not fun places to work in and seldom
try to improve what is going on. Toxic cultures inhibit
and limit improvements efforts in several ways.
• In these cultures, staff are afraid to offer
suggestions or new ideas for fear of being
attacked or criticized.
• Planning sessions lead by the school improvement
council or committee are often half-hearted due to
the negativity and sense of hopelessness fostered
by hostile staff that refuse to see that improvement
is possible.
• New staff that bring hope and sense of possibility
are quickly squelched and resocialized into
negative ways of thinking.
• Programs that are planned are poorly
implemented because the motivation and
commitment to change is weak or nonexistent.
• Plans fail for lack of will.
• No one wants to work in these kinds of schools.
But, it takes leadership, time and focus to rebuild
theses festering institutions. Fortunately, most
schools are not this negative, though many have
some of these cultural patterns that make change
problematic.
How do schools deals with “toxicity” in their
culture? Deal and Peterson (1999) suggest
several things educators can do. These
include:
• Confront negativity and hostility head-on
and work to redirect negative energies.
• Protect emergent sources of positive focus
and effort.
• Actively recruit more positive and the
improving sides of the school.
• Ensure that improvement efforts and plans
are successful by supporting with time,
energy, and resources.
• Reconnect staff to the mission of schools:
To help all children learn and grow.
Creating a Positive
School Culture
To create new culture of change, school principals and
teacher leaders must focus on an overall organizational
transformation that includes the following successful
practices:
• Defining the role of the school principal, teacher, and
school community through open communication and
academic growth activities that can best serve the needs
of a particular school community.
• Scheduling effective communication mechanisms, such
as staff lunchroom visits, department forums, staff
meeting pop-ins, and all-district personnel rallies.
• Sharing successes through employee union newsletters,
internal correspondence, and community relations that
breed further successes for diverse student populations.
• Visualizing school wide and classroom goals that
support the goals of a school site and district to generate
key results and offering staff development training that
supports these results.
Deal (1985) identifies eight attributes of
effective schools with strong cultures:

1. Shared values and a consensus on “how we

get things done around here”.
2. The principal as a hero or heroine who
embodies core values.
3. Distinctive rituals that embody widely shared
beliefs.
4. Employees as situational heroes or heroine.
5. Rituals of acculturation and cultural renewal.
6. Significant rituals to celebrate and transform
core values.
7. Balance between innovation and tradition
and between autonomy and control.
8. Widespread participation in cultural rituals.
Philip and Wagner (2003), identifies the following
13 possible characteristics for cultural improvement
in schools:

1. Collegiality- the way adults treat each other.

2. Efficacy- the feeling of ownership or the
capacity to influence decisions.
3. High expectations- excellence is acknowledged;
improvement is celebrated.
4. Experimentation and Entrepreneurship- new
ideas abound and inventions occur.
5. Trust and Confidence- participants believe in
the leaders and each other.
6. Tangible Support- efforts and improvement are
substantive with abundant resources made
available by all.
7. Appreciation and Recognition Improvement-
people feel special and act special.
8. Humor- caring is expressed though
“kidding”.
9. Shared Decision- Making by all
Participants- anyone affected by a decision is
involved in making and implementing the
decision.
10. Protect what is Important- participant keep
the vision and avoid trivial task.
11. Traditions- celebrations.
12. Open and Honest Communication-
information flows throughout the organization
in formal and informal channels.
13. Metaphors and stories- evidence of
behavior being communicated and influence
by internal imagery.