Studying and Shaping
Culture as a Key
Component for School
Improvement
Glenna Heinlein, WVDE
Mary Lu MacCorkle, WVDE
State School Improvement Specialist
What is our job?
• When someone says to you,
“What is your job all about?”
what do you tell them?
• “Helping schools provide the
very best learning for every
student.”
Data
Student Self
Efficacy
Kids See Their Learning
Is Different/Better
“Student Sees Success”
Collaborative
Conversations
Collective
Commitment
IMPACTS
STUDENT
ACADEMIC
SUCCESS
Collective
Efficacy
Instructional/Engagement
Change
Continuous Improvement
How does a school create
an inclusive &
collaborative process of
continuous school
improvement?
Comprehensive, Systemic School Improvement Components
CARING, COLLABORATIVE
CULTURE
ORGANIZATIONAL
LEADERSHIP
ORGANIZATIONAL
PEDAGOGY
Principal
Administrative Team
Faculty Leadership
Student Leadership
Parent Leadership
Community Leadership
District Leadership
Curriculum
Instruction
Assessment
Knowledge of
student learning
STUDENT
SUCCESS
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURES
Change Processes
Program Delivery
Policies
Resource Allocation
Jerry Valentine
TRUSTING, RESPECTFUL CLIMATE
Our Work is framed by
Climate and Culture…
• Talk at your tables:
What is the difference
between Climate and
Culture?
Climate of a School
Community
School Climate is the total environment of an
organization including physical dimensions,
social dimensions, administrative structures
and Culture. Climate is the manifestation,
the visibility, of the interaction of the four
forces that create it, WITH CULTURE BEING
THE MOST DYNAMIC.
• Tools to help learn about your Climate & Culture
– Cultural Typology
– Culture Survey
CULTURE IS…
• Organizational Vision
“What do we want our organization to
look like over the next few years?”
• Organizational Goals
“How can we accomplish our
organization’s vision?”
• Organizational Mission
“What is our organization’s purpose?”
CULTURE IS…
• Our Values as A Faculty
“What do we hold dear about education?”
• Our Beliefs as a Faculty
“What do we think makes a difference for
students?”
• Our Commitment to Best Practices
“How much, and to what, are we
committed?”
What is School Culture?
The shared beliefs and values that closely
knit a community together (Deal and
Kennedy, 1982)
The unwritten rules and traditions, norms,
and expectations (Deal and Peterson, 2009)
The way we do things around here (Bower,
1966)
CONTINUOUS CHANGE…
Does our school culture represent the values
necessary to make appropriate changes?
Does our school culture reduce anxiety about
change by involving teachers in the
decisions and design and then supporting
their efforts during implementation?
Do we have a caring, collaborative, problemsolving culture that will allow us to identify
and make the right changes?
When the climate or culture
of a school is not conducive
to learning, what to we do?
We have to engage in the
process of change.
Four Stages of
CHANGE
• Freeze is our current state—the way we
are…
• Unfreeze is the time we spend realizing and
accepting that we need to change.
• Transition is the actual implementation of
the change.
• Refreezing is stabilizing the organization so
the new change can be internalized and
maintained until it needs to be changed.
CONTINUOUS CHANGE
Freeze
Unfreeze
Transition
Refreeze
CONTINUOUS CHANGE
…is a condition of life in
school.
We cannot afford to stay frozen.
We, as a school, must
collaboratively design the
change.
For a school to get better…
Faculty typically has to
address the culture of the
school before tackling the
issues of curriculum,
instruction and organization.
The culture is the personality of
the school…
…it influences and shapes the way
teachers, students, and administrators
think, feel, and act…
…it reflects the norms, values, beliefs, and
assumptions of our school…
…it shapes the “way we do things around
here.”
And the research says…
• A positive school culture
– Fosters school effectiveness and productivity
– Improves collegiality, collaboration, communication and
problem-solving practices
– Promotes innovation and school improvement
– Builds commitment and kindles motivation
– Amplifies the energy and vitality of school staff,
students, and community
– Focuses attention on what is valued and important
Deal and Peterson pp. 12-14
How do we constructively reshape
our school’s culture??????
• WE….
• define what we value and believe about students
and the schooling experience.
• create vision and set goals.
• openly discuss our rituals and ceremonies to be sure
they support our desired culture.
• discuss “the way we do things” openly and
challenge our existing practices
How do we do this….
• we collect data
• we study the data
• we reshape practices that do not match our desired
culture
Safety Net…
A strong and positive caring, collaborative,
problem-solving school culture…
• provides collective security to all
stakeholders.
• serves as the foundation for constructive
change because it reflects the school’s
values and beliefs and commitments .
Remember…
A Caring Collaborative School
Culture is one of the basic
components of a highly
successful school
Study it and shape it…
It is who you are!
Recommended Readings
Shaping School Culture
Kent Peterson & Terrance Deal
Shaping School Culture Field Book
Kent Peterson & Terrance Deal
CULTURE TYPOLOGY
CULTURE SURVEY
Developed by:
Dr. Jerry Valentine
Professor Emeritus,
University of Missouri
CULTURE
TYPOLOGY
Cultures can be…
•
•
•
•
Toxic (negativity is the norm)
Fragmented (individualism is valued)
Balkanized (clique)
Contrived Collegiality (Superficial
structure)
• Comfortably Collaborative (social
collaboration)
• Collaborative (The norm is openness,
problem-solving, challenging, seeking
improvement collectively as a faculty)
Typology
CULTURE
SURVEY
CULTURE SURVEY
•
•
•
•
•
•
Collaborative Leadership
Teacher Collaboration
Professional Development
Unity of Purpose
Collegial Support
Learning Partnership
Culture Survey
Online Culture Survey link
http://wvde.state.wv.us/schoolimproveme
nt/school-culture-survey.html
Please contact Kenny Moles or Nancy Cline
for a password to the online link
kmoles@access.k12.wv.us
nmcline@access.k12.wv.us
Let’s do some examples
School Samples:
1. How would this school’s culture be
characterized? (What type?)
2. What does that mean? Why do you
believe the school has this type of
culture?
3. What would you do to improve the
culture of this school? How would
you start?
Hope is the thing with
feathers, that perches in
the soul, and sings the
tune without words,
and never stops at all.”
Emily Dickenson