School Reform, Culture and Vision Alexandra Holter Dr. Krumm EDLE 6493 December 7, 2011

Culture  “Culture describes the character of a school and reflects deeper themes and patterns of core values, common beliefs, and regular tradition that develop over time ” (Deal & Peterson, 1993, p. 89)  Building  Name  Mascot  School Colors  Fight Song  Shared stories Location-New-Building-New-Name-New- Mascot/ ?viewas=0&sk=wall

Influence of Culture  “The culture of an organization can influence productivity, the commitment to improve, professional development and the underlying ways that teachers and administrator organize and coordinate complex activities in highly diverse settings, including classrooms”(Deal & Peterson, 1993, p.90).

Students and Culture  Problems with:  Attendance  Classroom behavior problems (Brand, Felner, Shim, Seitsinger and Dumas (2003, p.585).  “Significantly associated with students health and wellbeing” (Way, Reddy & Rhodes, 2007, p.209). differences-the-past-present-future-conundrum.html

Shared Vision  “power to be up lifting and to encourage experimentation and innovation” (Smith, 2001).  “refer to an idealized goal that the leader wants the organization to achieve in the future” (Barnett & McCormick, 2003, p.55).

Leaders Role in the Shared Vision  Commitment to a shared vision  Encourage support and participation from all stakeholders

Students  “students are usually the targets of change efforts and services. Rarely are they change partners. Students are highly knowledgeable about the things that help them learn.” (Hargreaves &Shirley, 2009, p. 82)  An important aspect in how students view their school culture is “the extent to which student autonomy is allowed in the decision-making process” (Way, Reddy & Rhodes, 2007, p. 195)

Obstacles  Only feasible in Middle School or High School  Job descriptions, contractual obligations and administrative oversight  Physical Conditions  Cultural resistance /

Desired Results  To create a culture that “value, improvement, support risk taking and change not though formal procedures or structures but through unstated norms and shared understandings about what is valued and important.” (Deal & Peterson, 1993,p.90)

Reality  “principals cannot manipulate or reshape a culture through sheer force. A culture must be transformed through incremental steps that reinforce new values and new beliefs about quality and excellence” (Deal & Peterson, 1993, p. 91).  “schools with strong democratic practices and expanded local participation are more likely to undertake fundamental, systemic change” (Hord, 1997, p. 28).  Learning Community  “exemplified when people from multiple constituencies at all levels collaboratively and continually work together” (Hord, 1997, p. 18).

References  Barnett, K., & McCormick, J. (2003). Vision, relationships and teacher motivation: a case study. Journal of Educational Administration. 41(1),  Brand, S., Felner, R., Shim, M., Seitsinger, A., & Dumas, T. (2003). Middle school improvement and reform: Development and validation of a school- level assessment of climate, cultural pluralism and school safety. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(3),  Deal, T. E., & Peterson, K. D. (1993). Strategies for building school cultures: Principals symbolic leaders. In M. Sashkin and H. Walberg (Eds.), Educational leadership and school culture (pp.89-99). Berkley, CA: McCutchan Publishing Corporation.  Hargreaves, A., & Shirley, D. (2009). The fourth way: The inspiring future for educational change. London: Sage Publications.  Hiatt-Michael, D. B. (2001). School as learning communities: A vision for organic school reform. The school Community Journal. 11(2),  Hord, S.M. (1997). Professional learning communities: Communities of continuous inquiry and improvement  Smith, M. K. (2001). ‘Peter Senge and the learning organization’, the encyclopedia of informal education.[ww.infed.org/thinkers/senge.htm]  Way, N., Reddy, R., & Rhodes, J. (2007). Students' perceptions of school climate during the middle school years: Associations with trajectories of psychological and behavioral adjustment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 40(3-4),