How to define, assess, and transform it steve gruenert, todd whitaker on. Qualitative data further revealed the influences of a school culture on these teacher participants instructional practices. They are created and recreated by people considered members of a context. School definition is an organization that provides instruction. School culture is one of the most complex and important concepts in education. From the theory hypotheses about the relationship between school culture and school effectiveness and improvement can be derived as well as. Highquality school climate is advantageous for all students and may be particularly beneficial for atrisk students. In relation to school improvement, it has also been one. Download this complete document pdf 149 kb help with pdf files.
School culture can be used to encompass all the attitudes, expected behaviors and values that impact how the school operates. Janice hocker rushing 1983 has argued, for example, that an enduring myth in u. Deal and peterson 1999 defined that school cultures as a collection of traditions and rituals that have been built up over time as teachers, students, parents. We are born into specific cultures with prevailing values and opportunities. Like the larger social culture, a school culture results from both conscious and unconscious perspectives, values, interactions, and practices, and. Culture is the complex and broad set of relationships, values, attitudes and behaviors that bind a specific community consciously and unconsciously. The student should be the centerpiece of defining a. School culture is one of the most complex and important concepts in. School culture understanding school cultures culture home. Simply put, someone might describe a schools culture as the way we do. Aschools culture can be defined as the traditions, beliefs, policies, and norms within a school that can be shaped, enhanced, and maintained through the. The term school culture generally refers to the beliefs, perceptions, relationships, attitudes, and written and unwritten rules that shape and influence every aspect of how a school functions, but the term also encompasses more concrete issues such as the physical and emotional safety of students, the orderliness of classrooms and public spaces, or the degree to which a school embraces and celebrates racial, ethnic, linguistic, or cultural diversity.