The School as a

Cultural Institution
 Selznick (1957) claimed that culture is the
distinctive identity of the other schools.
 One should be knowledgeable not only on the
content or what to teach and the pedagogy or how
to teach, but also the culture or where to teach.

 This chapter presents the most common yet the

most unseen area in education which is viewing
the school as a cultural institution.

 Truly, changing the school cultures is more than

changing teaching and learning strategies,
assessments, curricula, building and structures,
roles and responsibilities.
 Definition of Culture
As a result of anthropological investigation of
people, culture evolved in the 20th century. Theorists
began to define culture and redefine how culture
impacts life (Raymer, 2006).
Edward Tyler
- defined the first modern definition of culture
- a well-known anthropologist
- defined culture as a complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief, arts, moral, law,
custom, and any other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of society.
Deal and Peterson (2002)
- claimed that the term “culture” best denotes the
complex elements of values, traditions, language, and
purpose in a given setting.

Wincek (1995)
- stated that “culture” is comprise of intertwining of
assumptions, values, and beliefs from which groups
norms, practices, and rituals.

Clifford Geertz
- another anthropologist refurbished the definition of
culture to the fabric of meaning in terms of which human
beings interpret their experience and guide their actions.
Tharp (2009)
- stated culture is an ordered system of meaning and
of symbols in terms of which social interaction takes
place.

Bower (1966)
- defined culture as the way we do things
around

Schein (1985)
- provides a comprehensive definition, calling
it as a pattern of basic assumptions
 Among the given definition of culture,
Geertz’ definition is being used more
widely today according to Tharp (2009),
however Deal and Peterson(2009)
argued that from the many different
conceptions of culture, none is universally
accepted as the one best definition.
Definition of School Culture
 School culture is characterized by deeply rooted
traditions, values, and beliefs, some of which are
common across schools and some of which are
unique and embedded in a particular school’s history
and location.

 Culture informs the ways in which “things get done

around here”.

 According to Kruse & Louis, 2009, a school’s rules

and regulations, policies, and procedures, whether
written or informal, are lasting artifacts of old
organizational lessons.
Schein (1985) defined school culture as complex
webs of traditions and rituals that have built up
over time and deal with crises and
accomplishments.

 Starrat (1993)
- School culture affects the way people in a school
think, perform, and learn.
- The use of the term culture in the school context
refers to the basic assumptions, beliefs, and
practices that are shared by the member of a
school community.
Waller (1932)
- opined that schools have a culture that is definitely
their own.
- There are in the school, complex rituals of personal
relationships, a set of folkways, and irrational
sanctions, a moral code based upon them.

Stoll & Fink (1998)

- therefore, school culture is most clearly seen in the
ways people relate to and work together, or

Selznick (1957) simply the distinctive identity of

the schools.
Other Cultures in School
 Cultures existing in school;
pupil culture leadership cultures
teacher culture non- teaching staff cultures
parents culture

 All stakeholders in a school and school administrators

experience school culture, but teacher culture have
received most attention in relation to school’s
improvement.
Hargreaves (1994) highlights the 4 existing
teaching cultures:

1. Individualism – refers to classroom as “egg-crates” or

“castles”. Autonomy, isolation and insulation prevail, and
blame and support are avoided.

2. Collaboration – spontaneously and voluntarily, to work

together, without external control agenda. This include
“comfortable” activities sharing ideas and materials.

3. Contrived collegiality – teacher’s collaborative working

relationship, with fixed times and places set for collaboration.

4. Balkanization – the teachers who are neither isolated and

nor work as a whole school.
 Becoming familiar with the culture of a particular school
takes time (Starrat, 1993).
Initial indication that may give from a particular school;
school’s statement of purpose
school management plan
school policies such as the student welfare policy
school’s prospectus
school’s motto
 information booklet for casual teachers
information/induction booklet for newly appointed staff
school’s newsletter
Interactions between teachers and students
 Foster and Bates (1984)
proposed that influencing school
culture could result in positive and
negative orientation, depending the
agenda of the leader.
TYPOLOGY of SCHOOL
CULTURE
Stoll and Fink (1996)
- develop a model in determining the school culture, that
focused on the school’s current effectiveness, but also
argue that the rapidly accelerating pace of change makes
standing still impossible, therefore school’s are getting
better or worse.
A Typology of School Cultures
Improving
Declining
Moving Cruising
Effective Strolling
Struggling Sinking
Ineffective
1. MOVING refers on the following;
- Boosting pupil’s progress and development
- Working together to respond to change context
- Know where they are going and having the will and
skill to get there
- Possess norms of improving schools

2. CRUISING focuses on the following;

- Appear to be effective
- Usually in more affluent areas
- Pupils achieve in spite of teaching quality
- Not preparing pupils for changing
- Possess powerful norms that inhibit change
3. STROLLING highlights the following;
- Neither particularly effective nor ineffective
- Moving at inadequate rate to cope with pace of charge
- Meandering into future to pupil’s detriment
- Ill-defined and sometimes conflicting aims inhibit improvement

4. STRUGGLING centers on the following;

-Ineffective and they know it
- Expend considerable energy to improve
- Unproductive ‘thrashing about’
- Will ultimately succeed because have the will if not the skill
- Often identified as ‘failing’, which is demotivational
5. SINKING refers on the following;
- Ineffective: norms of isolation, blame, self reliance, and
loss of faith powerfully inhibit improvement
- Staff unable to change
- Often in deprived areas where they blame parenting or
unprepared children
- Need dramatic action and significant support
SCHOOL MISSION, VISION, and
VALUES
Stoll and Fink (1996) ten cultural norms of improving
schools are:

1) Shared goals – “we know where we’re going”

2) Responsibility for success – “we must succeed”
3) Collegiality - “we’re working on this together”
4) Continuous improvement – “we can get better”
5) Lifelong learning – “learning is for everyone”
6) Risk taking – “we learn by striving something new”
7) Support – “there’s always someone there to help”
8) Mutual Respect – “everyone has something to offer”
9) Openness – “we can discuss our differences”
10) Celebrating and humour – “we feel good about
ourselves”
 SCHOOL MISSION, VISION, and VALUES
THE DEPED VISION

We dream of Filipinos who

CORE VALUES
passionately love their country and
whose values and competencies
enable them to realize their full Maka-Diyos
potential and contribute Maka-tao
meaningfully to building the
nation. Makakalikasan
As a learner-centered public Makabansa
institution, the
Department of Education
continuously improves itself to
better serve its stakeholders.
THE DEPED MISSION
To protect and promote the right of every Filipino to
quality, equitable, culture-based, and complete basic education
where:

Students learn in a child-friendly, gender sensitive, safe, and

motivating environment.
Teachers facilitate learning and constantly nurture every learner.
Administrators and staff, as stewards of the institution, ensure an
enabling and supportive environment for effective learning to
happen.
Family, community, and other stakeholders are actively engaged
and share responsibility for developing life-long learners.
 School Rituals, Traditions, and Ceremonies

A life devoid of ritual and ceremony would be

one without richness and zest.

There are set of rituals, traditions, and

ceremonies in every school.

Paterson and Deal (2009) defined school rituals

as procedures of routines that are infused with
deeper significance.
Every school has hundreds of routines that later on
become rituals.

They added that rituals help to transform common

experience into uncommon events. Moreover, school
traditions are significant events that have a special,
history and meaning and occur year in and year.

School ceremonies are elaborated as culturally

sanctioned events that provide a welcome spiritual
boost.
Example of ritual, traditions and ceremony:
 School History and Stories
 A school mission, vision, values, rituals, tradition and
ceremonies are all elements of culture that are current
happening in the present.
 These make a school unique and make the school active and
alive through these following elements;
Mission
 Vision
 Values
 Traditionals
 Rituals, and
 Ceremonies
Confeld (2016)
- claimed that physical environment of the
school building and the surrounding are essential
in about what is valued.

Peter and Deal (2016)

- shared that learning from past mistakes and
success in vital to creating and maintaining a
positive school culture.
THANK YOU for
LISTENING!