Studying and Shaping
Culture as a Key Component
for School Improvement
West Virginia School Improvement Specialists
August 18, 2010
Jerry Valentine
Professor Emeritus
University of Missouri
Getting to know each other…
brief introductions….

Our time together today…
 School Improvement, School Culture, and School
Change (early to mid morning)
 Student Engagement and Student Achievement (late
morning to lunch)
 Student Engagement and Achievement Strategies
(after lunch to early afternoon)
In 15 years of working on a weekly
basis with academically struggling
schools, I have found that the
following are usually issues…we will
talk about some of these today.
Leadership for Change
Principal and/or teacher leadership is/are lacking
Culture
Ambivalent, negative or toxic, but not highly collaborative
culture with high expectations
Pedagogy
Curriculum is aligned but not taught
Instructional Practices are archaic (out of tune with current
knowledge; neither relevant nor challenging)
Engagement in learning is minimal; learning time is not
honored; student focus is not high; busy work abounds, and
deeper, thoughtful learning occurs infrequently
Assessment is OF learning, not FOR learning.
Leaders and teachers believe structures and programs make a
difference, but they do not understand that…
the competence and beliefs of the people,
the fidelity with which programs are implemented, and
the processes by which they solve problems make the difference.
Comprehensive, Systemic School Improvement Components
CARING, COLLABORATIVE
CULTURE
ORGANIZATIONAL
LEADERSHIP
Principal
STUDENT
Administrative Team
SI Team
Success
Faculty Leadership
Student Leadership
ORGANIZATIONAL
Parent Leadership
Community Leadership STRUCTURES
District Leadership
Change Processes
Program Delivery
Personnel Policies
Student Policies
Resource Allocation
Valentine, 2002
ORGANIZATIONAL
PEDAGOGY
Curriculum
Instruction
Assessment
Knowledge of
student learning
TRUSTING, RESPECTFUL
CLIMATE
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
studetns?”
Our Commitment to
Best Practices
“How much, and to
what, are we
committed?”
Assess School Action
Plan
“How much of the
plan have we
accomplished?”
Implement School
Action Plan
“How do we collectively
implement our action
plan?”
Knowledge of Best Practice
“Do we understand best educational
practice and systemic change?”
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?”
Design Strategies
“What objectives, tasks,
responsibilities, and timelines
are necessary to accomplish
our goals?”
Organizational
Mission
“What is our
organization’s
purpose?”
Baseline Data About
Current Practice
“What do we look like as
we begin the process?”
Valentine, 2002
The Necessity and Urgency for Change in Our Schools…
The Knowledge-Implementation Gap
Our Implementation with No New Knowledge
Lewin’s Simple Explanation of Organizational
Change Has Become a Classic Perspective:
Freeze/Unfreeze/Transition/Refreeze
 Kurt Lewin
 Pioneer in organizational
psychology
 Born in Poland
 Studied in Germany
 Emigrated to US as Hitler
moved into power
 Worked at Cornell, Iowa U.
MIT and Harvard
Mountain Stream Ice Flow: Freezes, Thaws, Reshapes,
Refreezes with the Environmental Factors of Sun-ShadeCurrent Flow-Water Depth
Freeze-Unfreeze-Transition-Refreeze
Explanation
 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
 Learning organizations are in a continuous cycle
of change from freeze to unfreeze to transition to
refreezing just as the mountain stream transitions
in the fall or spring
Same Concept, Different Visual
Lewin’s Stages of Change:
Current State
Unfreeze
Transition
Freeze
The Change Journey:
Facilitating Significant Change
Significant
change is
institutionalized
Hawthorne Effect
(assuming the group has
collective commitment
to change)
Significant
change is
introduced
Refreeze
Unfreeze
Awareness/
Urgency for
Change
Group
Performance Level
T
R
A
N
S
I
T
I
O
And the
process
repeats….
N
Implementation
Dip
Sustained building-wide data collection/analysis, dialogue, and problem solving
Job-embedded professional development
Hackmann and Valentine 2009
STAFF ANXIETY
Low
High
Comfort-Discomfort-Comfort Cycle: Staff Anxiety
During Collaboratively Developed Change
Challenges of
implementing
the change
Realization of
urgency for
change
Realization of
needed change
Comfortable with
current conditions
Collaborative
problem solving
and design
Optimism about
decision to
change
TIME
Valentine, 2010
Commitment and
persistence
Comfort with new
conditions
STAFF ANXIETY
Low
High
Comfort-Discomfort-Comfort Cycle: Staff Anxiety
During Mandated, Authoritative Change
Realization of
urgency for
change
Realization of
needed change
Comfortable with
current conditions
Mandated
Change
Collaborative
problem solving
and design
Optimism about
decision to
change
TIME
Valentine, 2010
Challenges of
implementing
the change
Little
Commitment
or Comfort
Commitment and
persistence
Comfort with new
conditions
Continuous Change…
Continuous change is a condition of life in schools…
We cannot afford to refreeze and stay frozen.
Nor can we afford not to collaboratively design the
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, problem-solving
culture that will allow us to identify and make the
right changes?
What is School Culture?
 The eloquent definitions:
 The shared beliefs and values that closely knit a community
together (Deal and Kennedy, 1982)
 The pattern of basic assumptions—invented, discovered, or
developed by a group as they learn to cope with past
problems—that have been developed over time and have
worked so well that they are taught to new members as the
correct way to perceive, think, and feel as the organization
addresses new problems. (Modified from Schein, 1985)
 The practical definitions:
 The unwritten rules and traditions, norms, and expectations.
(Deal and Peterson, 2009)
 The way we do things around here (Bower, 1966)
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.”
Valentine 1989
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
Cultures can be…
 Toxic (Pervasive sense of hopelessness and pessimism;





negativity is the norm)
Fragmented (Collaboration and external support
discouraged; individualism is valued)
Balkanized (In-groups, clicks, territoriality, lack of
sharing)
Contrived Collegiality (Superficial structure put in place to
foster collaboration; often the initial step along the path
toward true collaboration)
Comfortably Collaborative (Lacks criticism and wrestling
with the tough issues)
Collaborative (The norm is openness, problem-solving,
challenging, seeking improvement collectively as a faculty)
Gruenert and Valentine (2006); adapted from Fullan and Hargraves (1996), Deal and Peterson (1999),
Shaping School Culture books…
How do we begin to understand
our school’s culture?????
 Engaging, Collaborative Strategies…
 “School Song”
 If our school was an animal, we would be a…
 Develop (write and act) a 20 second advertisement or
infomercial…
 Design a “shield” with symbols (like a family shield or crest)…
 Create a list or timeline of the school’s rituals and ceremonies…
 Identify the heroes/heroines past and present…
 Create a “book of stories” that personify the school past and
present…
 Conduct an educational “Garage Sale”
Peterson and Deal
Symbolic Educational Garage Sale
Faculty determine what to Keep or Sell or Trash from
among the Values, Programs, Equipment, Past
Events, Relationships, Curricular Ideas, Teaching
Approaches, Educational Issues, and Conflicts
NOT FOR SALE
…need now
FOR SALE ...of
some value, but
not to us
Peterson and Deal
MUSEUM…served us well in
past, given place of honor
TOXIC
WASTE…
dispose
carefully
GARBAGE/TRASH
…no longer of use
How might we address the
negative aspects of our culture?
 Hold a wake for
some of the toxic
behaviors or rituals
that are not
supportive of our
desired culture
 Make a list of the toxic
behaviors or the negative
rituals and traditions
that no longer serve the
current needs of
students and bury them.
Peterson and Deal
How might we address the
negative aspects of our culture?
Have a bonfire
 Take pictures
around school of
the symbols of
past failures then
make a small
bonfire and burn
them.
Peterson and Deal
How might we address the
negative aspects of our culture?
Display positive symbols like
banners, posters, wall hangings
and artifacts with great
messages… drown out the
negativity of the past.
Peterson and Deal
How do we constructively reshape
our school’s culture??????
 We begin by understanding what we value and believe



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about students and the schooling experience.
We define what we want to become through our vision and
goals.
We openly discuss our rituals and ceremonies to be sure
they support our desired culture
We discuss “the way we do things” openly and challenge
our existing practices
We create a “school culture” team responsible for:
 collecting data about our culture
 leading us in studying the data
 pointing out to us where our practices don’t match our
desired culture
Our School Culture Affects How We Meet Our Students’ Needs:
The Cultural Knowledge-Implementation Gap
Our Effectiveness without a Collaborative Culture
Change is like a trapeze act…
You have to let go before you can grab on...
if you let go too soon,
you’ll miss the next bar.
If you hold on too long…
you’ll lose momentum.
Peterson and Deal
Your School Culture is Your Safety Net…
 A strong and positive caring, collaborative, problem-
solving school culture…
 Allows you to let go with the confidence that you will be
safe…even if the task is difficult and you need multiple
attempts to be successful.
 Provides the same level of security to everyone who is
willing to put forth the effort to change.
 Serves as the foundation for constructive change
because it reflects the school’s values and beliefs and
commitments woven together into a strong, resilient
safety net.
Valentine 2010
Remember…
A Caring Collaborative
School Culture is one of
the basic components of
a highly successful
school!
Study it and shape it.
Time to Stretch…
Not a Break, Just a Stretch…
Collecting Data to Study and
Change School Culture
 The School Culture Survey (Gruenert and
Valentine, 1998)
 6 Factors about School Culture
 35 Items
 Teacher Efficacy Scale (Quinn 2008)
 10 Items
Collaborative Leadership
 School leaders establish, maintain, and
support collaborative relationships with and
among school staff.
 Leaders value teachers’ ideas, seek input, engage
staff in decision-making, and trust the
professional judgment of the staff.
 Leaders support and reward risk-taking and
innovative ideas designed to improve education
for the students.
 Leaders reinforce the sharing of ideas and
effective practices among all staff.
Teacher Collaboration
 Teachers engage in constructive
dialogue that furthers the educational
vision of the school.
 Teachers across the school plan together,
observe and discuss teaching practices, evaluate
programs, and develop an awareness of the
practices and programs of other teachers.
Professional Development
 Teachers value continuous personal
development and school-wide
improvement.
 Teachers seek ideas from seminars, colleagues,
organizations, and other professional sources to
maintain current knowledge, particularly
current knowledge about instructional
practices.
Unity of Purpose
 Teachers work toward a common
mission for the school.
 Teachers understand, support, and perform in
accordance with that mission.
Collegial Support
 Teachers work together effectively.
 Teachers trust each other, value each other’s
ideas, and assist each other as they work to
accomplish the tasks of the school organization.
Learning Partnership
 Teachers, parents, and students work
together for the common good of the
student.
 Parents and teachers share common
expectations and communicate frequently about
student performance.
 Parents trust teachers and students generally
accept responsibility for their schooling..
Collecting SCS Data
 School Culture Team Prepares Faculty
 What is School Culture?
 Why is it important to study it?
 What will we do with the data we collect?
 Strategies for Collecting Teacher Responses
 Distribute; responses returned to a box
 Distribute; responses to secretary (envelope)
 Distribute, responses to a teacher (envelope)
 Distribute and complete during a faculty
meeting or PD session (envelope)
Analyzing the SCS Data
 School Culture Team…
 Enters Data into Spreadsheet
 Copies Charts/tables as needed
 Determines date/time/agenda for studying
the data
Strategies for Faculty Study of SCS Data
 Randomly Mix faculty into groups of 5-6 per table
 Distribute Survey, Data Sheet, and Factor Definitions with Item
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Numbers
Small groups rank the 6 factors on chart paper, discuss their
perceptions of the factor rankings, and then share out
perceptions of the factors and rankings to whole faculty
Small groups identify and rank on chart paper the five highest
and lowest rated items, discuss their perceptions, and then share
out perceptions about specific items to whole faculty
Small groups list on chart paper what they view as most pressing
issues and share out with whole faculty
Small groups list on chart paper practical strategies to address
the issues and share out with whole faculty
Culture Team collects all chart papers and creates a list of issues,
strategies, and recommendations for faculty to discuss
In upcoming session faculty discuss and reach consensus on
recommendations
Perspective…the Indiana Study
Elementary
SCS Factor
Schools
Collaborative
3.56
Leadership
Teacher
3.12
Collaboration
Professional
3.99
Development
Unity of
4.02
Purpose
Collegial
3.95
Support
Learning
3.52
Partnership
(Gruenert 2005)
Middle
Schools
High
Schools
3.35
3.29
2.88
2.73
3.71
3.59
3.67
3.68
3.65
3.64
2.99
3.03
Teacher Efficacy Scale
 Describes the extent to which teachers
consider their students to be capable of
successful learning and consider themselves
to be responsible and effective agents in
instructing students.
 10 Items
 Reverse Scoring Explanation


For item analysis you do not use the revere scored
column
For Charts, the reverse score is applied so the bar
graphs all go in the same direction, thus taller bar
(higher number) is more positive
Thank you for the opportunity
to discuss school culture.
Jerry Valentine
Professor Emeritus
University of Missouri
ValentineJ@Missouri.edu
 The following slide applies only if the school does the
School Culture Typology Activity.
School Culture Typology Activity
 Randomly Mix 6 Per Table
 Independently complete School Culture Typology Individual

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

Worksheet (Handouts A and B)
Independently read and highlight School Culture Research Summary
(Handout C)
Create groups of three from each table
Each person gets the Typology Descriptions (Handout D)
Each person receives and then studies either Typology Example A, B, or
C (Handouts E, F, G)
Triad members discuss their respective Culture Examples
Back as a table of six, the table group tallies their previously completed
School Culture Typology Individual Worksheet ratings using the
School Culture Typology Small Group Worksheet (Handout H)
The table group then completes and discusses their Culture Typology
Reflection Worksheets (Handout I)
The activity facilitator collects the table worksheets and the School
Culture Team builds a school composite culture and designs the next
session where faculty study the findings.