8-9; Stoll and Fink 1995). (Eds. School culture is the set of shared values, beliefs and norms that influence the way educators and administrators think, feel and behave in schoolplace. Lopez, G. R. However culture is often defined in broad general terms as, for example, the way we do things around here (Deal & Kennedy, 1982), obscuring complex and contested conceptualizations. R. Cultures consequences: management in Saudi Arabia. Sports. (2005). (1991). His ideas were widely influential. We have looked at three theoretical aspects of culture here. Certainly it would be helpful to undertake an educational equivalent of the GLOBE project (House et al., 2004) and to establish the education leadership attributes and behaviors that are held in common across a large number of nations and those elements that are culturally contingent. Informa UK Limited, an Informa Group Company Home | About RHO | Collections In the period since the 1970s many commentators have created sometimes a single description of school culture, and sometimes typologies providing alternate descriptions. Despite the widespread acknowledgement that culture varies considerably and that leadership preparation and development could be adjusted in relation to the culturally embedded ontological, epistemological and axiological differences between cultures, the content, method of delivery and assessment of preparation and development shows relatively little variation throughout the world (Bush & Jackson, 2002). , (1985). Published 1996. We are using cookies to provide statistics that help us give you the best experience of our site. Despite the recognition that culture is an elusive and diverse concept, identifying some of the existing intellectual paradigms of culture is an important starting point. Such simple categorizations provide briefly interesting analytical tools to assist school leaders in gaining an initial understanding of their school culture, but are of limited wider utility. However, his analysis of national culture has been abused to support stereotypical views and crude dichotomies, such as between Western cultures and those of Asia. Notwithstanding these different positions, knowledge of how leadership is conceptualized and enacted locally is a sine qua non of successful design. Its view of the nature of human relationships are people essentially collaborative or competitive, do they function best in groups or as individuals? For example, Bryant (1998), researching the leadership culture of Native Americans in the United States, suggests a number of cultural assumptions embedded in American leadership: The result is a simultaneous requirement for a task and people orientation. In This may be due in part to the fact that understanding culture and its connection to leadership in education is a poorly researched field. & (2001). Leadership for a new century; authenticity, intentionality, spirituality and sensibility. Nevertheless, school leadership that supports, stimulates, and facilitates teacher learning, has been found to be a key condition for collaborative teacher learning (Stoll & Kools, 2017). By continuing to use the site Hoppe asserts that US leaders find difficulty with accepting supportive relationships. 178190). The aim is to encourage leaders to address obliviousness to their own culture and challenge approaches which may inappropriately embed a single culture and/or a culture alien to some participants. Diversity and the demands of leadership. However, a model which merely identifies cultural elements doesnt take account of the dynamic nature of culture and it is useful therefore to consider culture in the context of a systems perspective on organizations. The political perspective would see educational leaders as seeking to generate in their pupils and staff a critical view of society, to challenge existing orthodoxies and to become citizens able to participate in social and cultural change. | Free trial Walker, A. Whittier Christian High School is a highly rated, private, Christian school located in LA HABRA, CA. & Processual competencies, comprising intrapersonal competencies and cognitive competencies (2003, p.84), are also needed. Sarason (1971, 1996), writing of US schools, was one of the earliest to insist that improving schools was primarily a question of changing culture. Walker, A. Scheins model provides a greater level of sophistication by focusing on a challenging interrogation of the culture of the school and linking culture more strongly to underpinning values and beliefs. Consequently, although there is relatively little empirical data on which to draw, the issue of fit between culture and the conception, development and enactment of leadership has become a key concern. , The implications of these strategies for leadership training and development have been analyzed by DiPaola (2003) who outlines a number of key components of principal preparation programs. Lumby, J. ), Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: the GLOBE study of 62 Societies (pp. Clearly in these two instances, Western derived theories of autonomy, planning and change management are all thrown into question. A key influence on culture within and beyond schools has been globalization. London: Paul Chapman. Just as there is an interplay between culture and modes of delivery, assessment may also be rendered more or less effective by the degree of cultural fit. (1986). In The New Meaning of Educational Change (3rd ed.). This may be interpreted in several ways ranging from the operational to the political. Towards a framework of investigating leadership praxis in intercultural. Stoll, L. Hanges, S. (1996). For example, North American and European development assert a cultural commitment to inclusion and equality for all. Wallace, M. Daily challenges for school leaders.I In (2001). (2007). The first is the blending of western (or, more correctly, exogenous) cultural values with existing cultures to generate a new cultural environment, a model sometimes described as the melting pot perspective. As we shall demonstrate later in the chapter, it is getting to understand these values and beliefs that is a critical first step for educational leaders in developing the skills to manage, develop and evolve culture in their school. & School values were assessed by aggregating the scores of 862 students, (ages 15-19) in 32 Jewish and Arab Israeli schools (Study 1), and 1,541 students (ages 11-21) from 8 European schools and 163 teachers from 6 of these schools (Study 2), using Schwartz's Portrait Values Questionnaire. Schools with strong, positive cultures feature service-oriented staffs, a collegial ambience, celebratory rituals, supportive social networks, and humor. Skip to page content. Bush, T. (1998). Two examples will suffice to illustrate this, though. Paper presented to the Chinese culture and leadership. A person in charge is not required. In (Eds. Unproductive, toxic schools have fragmented staffs, eroding goals, and negative, hopeless atmospheres. However, Lumby et al. Cultural globalization is the international transfer of values and beliefs, and while strictly it is multi-directional it is typically perceived as dominated by the spread of western, particularly American, values and symbols across the globe. Cultural sensitivity demands consideration of how leadership is dispersed amongst the players within schools and the regional administration in a specific context before designing national and local systems in response. These may be through processes of exclusion or processes of inclusion, resulting in a relatively homogeneous or diverse student body, but in either case the outcome will be a pupil profile which reflects a particular set of cultural characteristics. , Professing educational leadership: conceptions of power. Hofstede, G. In Identity based and reputational leadership: an American Indian approach to leadership. Two typologies are developed. Analysis of the content of programs might suggest that such commitment is largely camouflage for neglect of such values (Lopez, 2003; Rusch, 2004). Hanges Similarly, the selection of teaching staff provides at least an implicit and possibly an explicit mechanism of shaping a key cultural input into the school. Celebration and humour"we feel good about ourselves" a holistic concept. Adler, N. Two distinctive views of this connection can be identified (Collard, 2006). The Place of Culture in Social Theory. School principals in transition. | How to buy (Hoppe, 2004, p. 333). The first approach led to selection of 25 most frequently found publications on the school as learning organisation and/or learning school. School Culture. Bush In part this reflects a revolt against the perceived global homogenization of leadership. Culture is shaped by five interwoven elements, each of which principals have the power to influence: Fundamental beliefs and assumptions, or the things that people at your school consider to be true. M. What we mean by the term culture is both argued to be generally understood (Lumby, Walker, Bryant, Bush & Bjork, forthcoming) and suggested not to be understood, misunderstood or so variously understood as to be verging on meaningless. Cultural fluency will be predicated on more than cognitive effort (Lakomski, 2001). Those undertaking preparation for development may have differing value priorities which are culturally shaped. (2004). House & Dorfman, P. W. (forthcoming). School culture, school effectiveness and school improvement. P. J. McCauley In contrast the assessment of educational leaders often assumes that consideration of cultural fit is unnecessary in relation to standards which are uncritically accepted as international. (2001). Duignan, P. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 1(2), 95117. | Promotions G, Crow A number of summative frameworks for analyzing culture have therefore been developed which seek to reduce the complexity of culture to simplified types which can be labeled for ease of comprehension. It enriches the theory related to school culture and the research findings that have been identified in the Western settings. In relation to leader preparation and development culture has been framed largely as an issue of diffusion, particularly of Western values and practice applied to the development of leaders in all parts of the globe (Leithwood & Duke, 1998). Research has shown the principal to be a significant factor in school effectiveness (Hallinger & Heck, 1999). & J. Heck, R. & Find Washington Middle School test scores, student-teacher ratio, parent reviews and teacher stats. ), Strategic Human Resource Management (pp. Prasad Despite the difficulties of establishing the meaning of the concept of culture, it is used ubiquitously as a key variable, Janus-like, suggested both to influence and be influenced by a range of factors which impact on education. Bjerke and Al-Meer (1993, p. 31) suggest that in the Arab world: Does it perceive itself as dominant, submissive, harmonizing or searching out a niche within its operational environment? Its view of the nature of truth and reality how does it define what is true and what is not and how is truth defined in the context of the social or natural world? Beyond the school, though, lies a range of contextual cultures extending from the community within which the school lies to regional, national and international cultural contexts. Hargreaves, D. H. School leaders work within pressing cultures which sustain themselves by multiple conscious and unconscious mechanisms (Lumby with Coleman, 2007). Dorfman Tin, L. Conceptualizing the schools culture through such a systems approach helps clarify the challenges for school leaders in relation to culture. Washington, K. His critique suggests that there is insufficient time given in such an approach to understanding existing cultures, both at a general level and in terms of the underpinning key components and variables, and the consequence is cultural imperialism. V. Hoppe (2004) suggests that experiential learning proves enjoyable and effective for US leaders while French and German leaders often view this approach as time-wasting childs play (p. 353). Buckingham: Open University Press. (2000) Leadership and Culture in Chinese Education. & School culture can have an positive. & Consequently mid-forged manacles of Western generated categories hinder the development of leaders in Malaysia where Islam is deeply embedded in culture. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 12(4), 385408. (See, for example, Buruma and Margal-its book, Occidentalism: The west in the eyes of its enemies.) Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 14(1), 3035. Changing our schools : linking school effectiveness and school improvement. The challenge for leaders, therefore, is to manage that change in terms of speed, direction or nature to support the organizations goals. International Studies in Educational Administration, 29(2) 3037. Brunner , Such a knowledge base would allow theory to be developed in a more culturally aware way. Speci cally, many scientists believe (Henting, 1997; Bruner, 2000; Stoll & Fink, 2000; Faulstich, 1999) that high-quality and successful changes in education can be achieved by introducing a culture of learning which espouses the holism and integrity of human beings. , & as aberrations instead of being endemic to organizations (Hoyle & Wallace, 2005, p. 116). In previous papers we have described the evolution of this project in detail (Stoll and Fink, 1988, 1989a, 1989b, Fink and Stoll, 1992). Chan, B. Lumby, J. The study identifies how cultural literacy amongst the principals of the schools is a key element of the positive achievements they report. Journal of Research in Leader Education, Taras, V. L. Stoll, D. Fink. Kaur Hayers, P. The mechanics of diffusion and the appropriateness of the results have been subject to unequal research interest. Watch Events 3 Live Search by typing your school, event, association. Rejection of the cultural assumptions in preparation and development programs abound on the grounds of gender (Brunner, 2002; Coleman, 2005; Louque, 2002; Rusch, 2004), ethnicity (Bryant, 1998; Tippeconic, 2006), national culture (Bjerke & Al-Meer, 1993; Hallinger, Walker. The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change. A. Instead there are history, context, process, interactivity, power relations and change. There are different typologies that can be used to assess. Mills, M. International Journal for Leadership in Education, 4(4), 309319. Educational Management & Administration, Billot, J. & International Journal of Leadership in Education, 8(3), 207221. The concept of culture has appeared frequently in analyses of both. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 4(4), 293296. Who. Deal, T. & Its view of the nature of human activity does it believe that people behave in a dominant/proactive mode or a passive/fatalistic mode? P. Kennedy, A. L. Hallinger Develops two "ideal culture" typologies (traditional and collegial) and discusses each for its heuristic, conceptual, methodological, and explanatory potential in school effectiveness and school . Nick Foskett, Print publication date: July 2008 International Journal for Leadership in Education, 4(4), 367381. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Cardno, C. International Studies in Educational Administration. , Those attempting to loosen the bonds of dominant cultures implicit in preparation and development programs research and write within the very dominant orientations they are trying to question (Gronn, 2001). UCEA. & of the teachers, students and school community. Culture and Agency. as cited in Stoll, Fink & Earl, 2003, p. 132). Foskett, N. Hofstede, G. The very public travails of The Ridings School have further heightened the national preoccupation with ineffective schools. P., Glatter The second has a similar perspective but rather than losing the identities of existing cultures in the melting pot sees the retention of plural cultures within education which can enrich and reinforce each other what is sometimes described as the salad bowl approach to cultural change. Heck, R. This paper's focus is school culture as 10. Cultural processes, the second element of a systems perspective, will be reflected in almost every dimension of the operation of the school. School Effectiveness and School Improvement. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. It is characterized by very limited research at the within school subunit scale, and by the adoption of generalized models of culture from business and management disciplines at whole-school or national/international scales of analysis. , Stoll, & Mackay, 2014). Journal of Management Development, 15(5), 421. In a strict sense we might argue that the culture of every educational institution is unique, derived from the context in which the school operates and the values of those who have led or been part of the organization over time. (2002). ABSTRACT The relevance of the concept of culture to school effectiveness and school improvement is explored. At the operational scale, the leader may focus on the culture within the institution in order to facilitate the achievement of institutional improvement, with culture conceptualized as an agent of change. If leaders believe that a dominant culture is identifiable or achievable, and that it is a single, stable and unifying phenomenon, then changing it becomes a matter of choice, but relatively straightforward and without any moral ramifications. New York: Teachers College Press. Panel 4 A Typology of School Cultures. However House et al. Wang, H. C. & International Studies in Educational Administration, Thomas, D. C. Redefining the field of European human resource management: a battle between national mindsets and forces of business transition? Conflict and change. every organization must have a person in charge, acute awareness of the expenditure of time, an obligation to accommodate others right to participate. Analysis of culture embedded in preparation and development programs will involve discriminating between what is rhetorical and what is evidenced. I refer students to this publication for new research articles or for my work, Acquisition of this publication will benefit department, faculty and student needs, I am a member of the publication's editorial board and strongly support the publication. After graduation, 76% of students from this school go on to attend a 4-year college. While these are different aims, they both involve intercultural fluency. (2001). This is but one element of the interplay of competing values, priorities and hierarchies of power which influence culture. In parallel, preparation and development sometimes include an element of raising awareness of cultures deemed to be other than that of the majority or the dominant group, what Stier (2003, p. 84) refers to as content-competencies, generally targeted at increasing knowledge of minority groups within the region or nation. It has 525 students in grades 9-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 13 to 1. Gronn, P. (2004), Understanding valuation processes; exploring the linkage between motivation and action. (2006). Watch online from home or on the go. , Crawford London: Sage. Introducing human rights education in Confucian society of Taiwan: its implications for ethical leadership in education. (Litvin, 1997, pp. (2007). Here we shall consider three of these perspectives which we believe provide diverse insights reflections on the tangible components of culture and a number of models of those components in action; consideration of the organizational scales at which culture is important in educational contexts; and a systems view of culture which enables the areas of potential management influence of culture in schools to be identified. Davis & Leaders interact with culture at the organizational level both in terms of efforts to include the multiple cultures which may be present and also to sustain, adapt or change the dominant culture. International Journal of Leadership In Education, 4(4),297307. Transactional leadership, often viewed negatively in many Anglophone countries, may be a more appropriate theoretical basis in many contexts. Leaders navigate cultural choices which are always constrained. School culture . (2003). A second view, though, is that of leaders as agents of cultural change, as discussed earlier in the chapter. In this line, a study . The Leadership Quarterly, 7(2), 163187. We would also suggest that pupils, although seldom asked, would hold . Education. Where preparation and development engage at all with culture, the current prevalence of content-competencies (Stier, 2003, p. 84) does not begin to equip leaders with the skills needed to relate to exogenous and endogenous cultures. Categorization of groups which might be assumed to hold a culture in common is therefore problematic. Fernandez There exists a considerable literature on culture, which provides a range of conceptualizations. The design of curriculum and delivery is therefore to an extent a cultural guessing game requiring those responsible for preparation and development to hold a high level of cultural fluency themselves and to support the development of cultural fluency in others. org/10.4135/9781446219362 Keywords: London: Paul Chapman. . A preparation for school leadership: International perspectives. Similarly, Louque (2002) challenges the appropriateness of the culture embedded in the selection and development of educational leaders to Hispanic and African American Women. & The interrelationship of culture with leadership and its development is the focus of this chapter. (1996). & Hallinger, P. Wong, K. ), Effective educational leadership (pp. None is universally applicable or comprehensive, but all can serve to support an educational leaders reflection on the culture of a specific school. There are no essential, innate and immutable characteristics of race, age, gender, disability or other demographic categories. (2005). (1971). In an increasingly complex, diverse and unpredictable world, it is necessary for schools and those working with them . Cultural complexity offers only multiple complications in assessing fit, not safe generalized conclusions. (forthcoming) distinguish transmission models, where experts pass on theoretical knowledge (often indiscriminately, as discussed earlier), and process models which use more community based styles of learning. Although researchers are just beginning to document the effectiveness of the PLC culture, early indications show that it has a significant positive effect on student learning (Lee & Smith, 1996; Louis & Marks, 1998; Stoll et al., 2006; Wiley, 2001). (2005). Bhindi Processes and structures designed for a time that has passed are no longer appropriate in a rapidly changing society. While there is extensive research on the implications of assessment modes on school learners, including the relationship of assessment to variables such as gender and ethnicity, no similar body of research informs how we understand the assessment of leaders.