T. (Eds. , & Walker, A. P.J. , A preparation for school leadership: International perspectives. ), Effective educational leadership (pp. every organization must have a person in charge, acute awareness of the expenditure of time, an obligation to accommodate others right to participate. Prasad In previous papers we have described the evolution of this project in detail (Stoll and Fink, 1988, 1989a, 1989b, Fink and Stoll, 1992). Intercultural Education. As a second exemplar, in China the millennia long influence of Confucianism has led to a compliance culture, the impact of this cultural norm being a tendency to see change as an event rather than a process (Hallinger, 2001, p. 67). Fink, D. Aitken, R. At the exogenous level, there appears to be widespread cultural homogeneity implicit in leadership development; that is, whether explicitly acknowledged or not, development is underpinned by some degree of belief in leadership as an invariable activity (Walker & Walker, 1998; Bhindi & Duignan, 1997): this despite recognition that even the word leader has very different connotations in different cultures (House, 2004). , At the interface with exogenous and endogenous cultures, preparation and development reflect choices which are more than technical. (Eds. Stream sports and activities from La Habra High School in La Habra, CA, both live and on demand. We will explore the concept of school culture from the perspective of teacher subcultures and the categories devised by Dalin and Stoll & Fink We will relate issues on school culture to your placement school We will develop an appreciation for how important school culture is in the process of curriculum change Teacher subculture can be based on: The study identifies how cultural literacy amongst the principals of the schools is a key element of the positive achievements they report. Waters (1995) has identified three interwoven strands to globalization political globalization, economic globalization and cultural globalization. The government of Thailand sought to introduce the western concept of school-based management, but found this problematic in the context of an existing societal culture, typical amongst the staff of Thai schools, in which deference to senior management and leadership made the introduction of collaborative and distributed approaches to leadership very difficult. , Tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow: a post-postmodern purview. 178190). Many leaders are constrained to varying degrees by the pressing demands of accountability and competition which in themselves create a dominant cultural context. Leader development across cultures. Thirdly, it offers an international perspective by looking at the micro relationship of culture to the multiple identities and cultures of individuals and organizations. In many countries the principal may indeed be key. (2007). Schools with strong, positive cultures feature service-oriented staffs, a collegial ambience, celebratory rituals, supportive social networks, and humor. , as aberrations instead of being endemic to organizations (Hoyle & Wallace, 2005, p. 116). 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. This paper's . Leadership and intercultural dynamics. Jacky Lumby School culture, therefore, is most clearly "seen" in the ways people relate to and work together; the management of the school's structures, systems and physical environment; and the extent to which there is a learning focus for both pupils and adults, including the nature of that focus. Skip to page content. A more extensive discussion of the variation in culture and practice internationally is offered by Foskett & Lumby (2003) and Lumby et al. ABSTRACT The relevance of the concept of culture to school effectiveness and school improvement is explored. It has 525 students in grades 9-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 13 to 1. The first is that culture is neither unitary nor static (Collard & Wang, 2005), and while change may be evolutionary rather than revolutionary, trends and developments in internal and external influences will move the culture forward. One consequence is that there is currently no precise means of assessing dimensions variously labeled as cultural distance or degree of diversity (Iles & Kaur Hayers, 1997, p. 107) or diversity amount and diversity degree (Thomas, 1999; Taras & Rowney, 2007); that is the differences between the culture of one location of leader development and another, or the extent of cultural differences within a leader development group. (2001). Such a perspective suggests that the dominant culture, were it to be discerned with any certainty, would be embedded, unexamined and therefore unchallenged, in preparation and development programs. The former has received very little and the latter a good deal more attention (Gronn, 2001; Heck, 1996). If alternatively, culture is viewed as multiple, unstable, persistently contested, reflecting the differing perspectives and power of individuals and groups, changing the culture of a school is a different kind of endeavor. Mills, M. In Ali (1996, p. 7) argues that the Jabria school of Muslim thought, influential in the Arab world, might rule out systematic planning as to plan is in conflict with predestination. In. Managing diversity in transnational project teams. (2001, October). (2004). It is "the way we do things around here" and often defined as 'the basic assumptions, norms and values and cultural artifacts of a school that . Hanges & There are no essential, innate and immutable characteristics of race, age, gender, disability or other demographic categories. The assumed commonality in attributes and behaviors may also be evident in axiological assumptions. Gender and race in leadership preparation: a constrained discourse. , Everyone expects superiors to enjoy privileges, and status symbols are very important. Rather, in leadership every person has a role to play (Bryant, 1998, p. 12) undertaking a leadership act as need and personal understanding or skill require. In terms of cultural inputs it is important that leaders within a school have the skills and knowledge to read the cultural landscape of the school, to recognize those aspects of it which can be controlled or manipulated, and decide which should be influenced and in what ways. 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. Stoll and Fink (1996) created a typology of five types of school culture: moving (dynamic and successful determination to keep developing), cruising (rather complacent, often with privileged learners who achieve despite little school dynamism), strolling (neither particularly effective or ineffective, but long term not keeping pace with change), struggling (ineffective but trying to address issues), and finally sinking (ineffective and not improving). (2005). Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 14(1), 3035. a set of shared values and preferred actions among members of a society that largely determines among other things, the boundaries within which leader development is possible. This paper aims to explore how the formation of Palestinian teachers' professional identity was affected by their experiences during the violent conflict known as the Second Intifada (2000-2005) and its impact on the school social culture. M. Bell In the opening chapter to this section of the Handbook, Fink and Stoll review the contemporary field of educational change and ask why educational change is so difficult to understand and achieve in present times. A person in charge is not required. (Litvin, 1997, pp. Such a knowledge base would allow theory to be developed in a more culturally aware way. . P. W. Davis Lumby with Coleman (2007) identifies the emotional dimensions of rage, confusion, and anxiety in engaging with alternate cultures (DiTomaso & Hooijberg, 1996; Osler, 2004; Prasad & Mills, 1997; Rusch, 2004). School culture and culture in general are often labeled as self-evident. Culture can take different forms. Hanges, S. 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. London: Falmer. G. Educational Management & Administration, Billot, J. Watch online from home or on the go. Kennedy, A. (2001). Subordinates expect superiors to act autocratically. An example of the cultural challenges that emerge from this has been described by Hallinger and Kantamara (2001) in the context of Thailand. 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. 330). 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. It involves consideration of fit to the culture of each individual school but also the necessity to equip leaders to engage with their own organizations culture, to sustain, develop or challenge it. Each of these contexts has a culture that expresses itself conceptually, verbally, behaviorally and visually, and which is a product of the complex interaction of communities, socio-economic contexts and contrasts, ethnic and faith-based values and beliefs, and the history of that community as a whole and of the individuals within it. A. & Cross-cultural issues in development of leaders. Sports. International Studies in Educational Administration, 32(2), 417. London: Sage. 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 leaders work within pressing cultures which sustain themselves by multiple conscious and unconscious mechanisms (Lumby with Coleman, 2007). For example, being dynamic and dependable, encouraging and displaying integrity were agreed to be positive leader attributes across all the nations involved. The challenge for leaders, therefore, is to manage that change in terms of speed, direction or nature to support the organizations goals. The identification of the relevant culture and the group to which it is appropriate is predicated on the notion that humans can be classified, that a specific culture can be assigned to those in a particular geographic area or sharing a particular characteristic such as gender, language, ethnic background or religion. Cultural isolation is difficult, even in societies which seek strongly to conserve traditional cultural values within their educational systems. Cultures which are comfortable with hierarchy or with the co-creation of knowledge may find affinities with process modes. Everyone expects superiors to enjoy privileges, and status symbols are very important. 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. (2004), Understanding valuation processes; exploring the linkage between motivation and action. Commission on Educational Issues. Despite some advances since that time, understanding of culture and its relationship to leadership and its development remains empirically underdeveloped. School culture refers to a total of shared values expressed through norms, rituals, expectations, behaviour and everyday practices. (1998). The extent of this range of sub-cultures and counter-cultures and their positive or negative interactions will be a key issue for those in leadership within the school and may cause cultural management issues to be significant or insignificant within the whole management task. Professing educational leadership: conceptions of power. (Forthcoming). 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. Many of our schools are good schools - if this were 1965. (Hargreaves 1995; Maslowski 2001, pp. Essentially it makes a questionable assumption. , The very public travails of The Ridings School have further heightened the national preoccupation with ineffective schools. School culture, therefore, is most clearly seen in the ways people relate to and work together; the management of the school's structures, systems, and physical environment; and the extent to which there is a learning focus for both pupils and adults, including the nature of that focus (Stoll & Fink, 1998) or simply the distinctive identity of . Culture and Agency. & (2003). However, the findings which result from research in one location may lead to indiscriminate transfer of assumptions, such as the primary location of leadership in the principal. Stoll, L. Each of the cultures influences and is influenced by each of the others. (1991). The Shopping Mall High School: Winners and Losers in the Educational Marketplace; National Association of Secondary School Principals (U.S.); National Association of Independent Schools. & Hallinger, P. However, over a decade ago, Heck (1996) suggested that advances in statistical methods held some hope of achieving conceptual and metric equivalence in investigating theoretical models across nations and within organizations. Farrar, E. The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change. Hoppe (2004) believes US leaders have little difficulty in receiving negative feedback. (2006). But the real purpose of schools was, is, and always will be about learning. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. There have, of course, been many more attempts to categorize school cultures, each offering a particular perspective to illuminate the nature and effects of culture. and 'learning school'; and contacts with leading experts in this area of work which led to identification of additional literature. Cranston, N. Cultures Consequences, Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations (2nd ed.). 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). 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. Nor is it amoral. Complex and important concept School culture is one of the most complex and important concepts in education. In this set article, Professor Louise Stoll explores the relationship between school culture and school improvement. While awareness of and reflection on hegemonic theory may be of use, its global dominance in preparation and development seems inappropriate on a number of grounds. Dorfman, P. W. Gupta Sparrow, P. Throughout the world a great deal of effort and money has been expended in the name of educational change. (2007). Those undertaking preparation for development may have differing value priorities which are culturally shaped. (2005). The result is that most preparation and development takes egalitarian participation and transformational leadership as key (Bush & Jackson, 2002). Educational Management & Administration, 26(1), 720. Conflicting expectations, demands and desires. (1996). Culture is the set of beliefs, values and behaviors, both explicit and implicit, which underpin an organization and provide the basis of action and decision making, and is neatly summarized as the way we do things around here. Similarly, Louque (2002) challenges the appropriateness of the culture embedded in the selection and development of educational leaders to Hispanic and African American Women. 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. These elements are but the tangible appearance of the underpinning set of values and beliefs, which shape the intended outcomes of the educational enterprise within a school. The culture of a school is one of its critical organizational characteristics. Bhindi Kantamara, P. Corporate rituals: The rites and fituals of corporate life. (1996). Changing the culture of a school or of a leadership development program is therefore not a finite endeavor. In many ways this is the summation of the school and reflects its overall purpose and aims, which have two distinct dimensions. Wang, H. Cultures consequences: management in Saudi Arabia. Bryant (1998) suggests that as a consequence school leadership as conceived in the US is unlikely to be appropriate to Native American educational leaders whose culture and consequent conception of leadership is very different. According to Mortimore (1991), a lot of improvement efforts have failed because research results were not translated adequately into guidelines for educational practice. (1999). School culture, school effectiveness and school improvement. You can find out more in our Privacy Policy. Zhang, J. H. It may be limiting, ineffective and ethically dubious, particularly in those countries with a history of previous colonization and suppression of indigenous cultures. ), Managing the Organizational Melting Pot: Dilemmas of Workplace Diversity (pp. (1996). Secondly, investigations of the cultural fit of transmission and process models of learning would support those responsible for design in making more appropriate choices. & & One of the best known divisions was by Stoll and Fink (2000), which distinguishes mobile, . An international perspective on leadership preparation. Wong, K. While the former classroom and lecture based model is widespread, they suggest that the process model of problem solving, mentoring and internship holds more hope of reflecting indigenous cultures. Lumby, J. & The project established 21 common perceived effective leadership attributes and behaviors within the 57 participating nations, providing evidence of widespread assumptions about leadership. All leadership development has embedded cultural values. Ali, A. Journal of Educational Administration, 34(5), 7497. School culture can have an positive. Journal of Research in Leader Education, Taras, V. (2005). (2003). Mabey 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. Hallinger, P. Cultural inputs have many facets these will include the external cultural context (society, community and economy at local, regional and national scales), and the cultures brought to the school by all those engaging with it (teachers, parents, pupils, for example). & By contrast Singaporean cultures emphasis on collective action and respect for seniority underpins acceptance and effective use of mentoring as an important mode of development, defined as a process whereby an expert or senior person guides a less experienced leader (Tin, 2001). Lumby et al. A challenge to dominant cultures and the evolution of cultures which are seen as fitting will be achieved only by persistent efforts to increase the intercultural fluency of all involved, in part by increasing the evidence base, and in part through detailed translation of such evidence to impact the design and delivery of the development of leaders. The product will be a mosaic of sub-cultures, which may reinforce the cultural objectives of the whole school or, in some cases, appear as counter cultures that challenge the organizational hegemony. L. Stoll, D. Fink. (1996). & Culture is so rooted in all aspects of human activity that its all encompassing nature may limit its usefulness in practice to conceptualizing leadership and shaping the development of leaders. 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? This may be interpreted in several ways ranging from the operational to the political. & & Transactional leadership, often viewed negatively in many Anglophone countries, may be a more appropriate theoretical basis in many contexts. The typology tool was first developed in 1997 as a hands-on, practical method of defining for discussion purposes a school's stage or type of culture. P. Changing Our Schools: Linking School Effectiveness and School Improvement. (forthcoming). & Bajunid., 2005; Sapre & Ranade, 2001; Walker, 2006; Wong, 2001), and faith (Shah, 2006). Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. 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. McCauley In London: Penguin. School culture is the set of shared values, beliefs and norms that influence the way educators and administrators think, feel and behave in schoolplace. Processual competencies, comprising intrapersonal competencies and cognitive competencies (2003, p.84), are also needed. Education. Hargreaves, D. H. The Place of Culture in Social Theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 7(2), 163187. . 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). , (Hoppe, 2004, p. 333). (1985). Culture also impacts on delivery. , (1986). In the period since the 1970s many commentators have created sometimes a single description of school culture, and sometimes typologies providing alternate descriptions. Hoyle, E. Such decisions will be founded on a concept of leadership that embraces far more than a capacity to competently manage the technical aspects of instruction. , & (1997). , & Improving. Kachelhoffer, P. Hanges Metaphorically culture is like the air we breathe; all around us, vital, and yet difficult to discern and to change. Leading and Managing Education: International Dimensions. , Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Cardno, C. A more flexible and subtle shaping will be needed. Bush, T. Two other approaches might be more desirable ethically and politically. Images of Organization, Powell, A. G. (forthcoming) provide a strong warning that collective cultures as well as honoring hierarchical superiority may also have an acute need to maintain self-esteem. (Eds. This unique culture will reveal itself through a number of institutional characteristics: While these representations are identifiable and mostly tangible, the illusiveness of the concept of culture lies in the fact that it is an holistic concept which is more than the sum of these component parts. , (2001). Prosser, 1998). Curricula and delivery which are founded on a set of cultural assumptions, even those which are dominant within the region or country, are likely to miss the mark for many. In Fernandez as cited in Stoll, Fink & Earl, 2003, p. 132). M. They may also tackle the issue of how culture can be managed. A. , C. D. 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. K. Hargreaves (1995) developed a different typological model in which he distinguishes formal, welfarist, hothouse, and survivalist school cultures based on the educational priorities of the school in the context of external market environments. International Journal for Leadership in Education, 4(4), 309319. Elmes More research of this kind, exploring fit not only to the dominant culture of the nation/region, but also fit to the multiple cultures within the nation or region would provide a potentially powerful antidote to programs which are currently not culturally inclusive. Hallinger, P. , R. J. In the context of education this is seen through the promotion of policies and practices around the globe that have been initially developed in the west, based often on western approaches to educational management and the key concept of economic rationalism. Bottery asserts that there is a risk through this that there may be emerging a perspective that defines what looks increasingly like a global picture of management practice. , 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. Whittier Christian High School is a highly rated, private, Christian school located in LA HABRA, CA. In terms of cultural outputs school leaders need to understand both what the external societies expect from the school and what they wish to achieve themselves this will require an integration of their personal and professional values, their vision of the purpose of schooling, and the visions and values of the key external stakeholders. Two distinctive views of this connection can be identified (Collard, 2006). P., Glatter Boosting pupil's progress development Working together to respond to changing context Know where they are going and having the will and skill to get there Possess norms of improving schools1.MOVING REFERS ON THE FOLLOWING: A tentative model and case study. J. Discourse and Organization. (2004). Wong, K-C. It takes the view that culture can be unified and that dissent, anomaly, conflicts of interest or ambiguity are viewed. Leader and leadership development may therefore be as effectively focused on teacher leaders as on principals in these two countries. London: Sage. Education researchers have also assumed such common attributes, for example, integrity (Begley, 2004; Bhindi & Duignan, 1997). | Free trial (2005). & Tippeconic, J. Bennett . Litvin (1997) attacks such essentialism, ascribing the taxonomy of groups to a Western Platonic purportedly scientific paradigm. In Exploring the cultural context of school improvement in Thailand. Within this, however, there may exist several cultures: Stoll and Fink (1996)25 pupil culture, teacher cultures, a leadership culture, non-teaching staff culture, and parent culture. From the approach adopted for teaching and learning, to the cultural values espoused in the pastoral and ethical functions of the school, to the relative value ascribed to possible destinations for pupils beyond school, the fabric of school life will be imbued by these cultural processes. (1997). Pupils, staff and school leaders have an on-going engagement with external stakeholders, from parents, to neighbors, to employers, to the media, and every one of those interactions conveys a message about the culture of the school and its underpinning values. Conceptualizing the schools culture through such a systems approach helps clarify the challenges for school leaders in relation to culture.