The term school culture generally refers to the beliefs, perceptions, relationships, attitudes, and written and unwritten rules that shape and influence every aspect of how a school functions, but the term also encompasses more concrete issues such as the physical and emotional safety of students, the orderliness of classrooms and public spaces, or the degree to which a school embraces and celebrates racial, ethnic, linguistic, or cultural diversity.

Like the larger social culture, a school culture results from both conscious and unconscious perspectives, values, interactions, and practices, and it is heavily shaped by a school’s particular institutional history. Students, parents, teachers, administrators, and other staff members all contribute to their school’s culture, as do other influences such as the community in which the school is located, the policies that govern how it operates, or the principles upon which the school was founded.

Generally speaking, school cultures can be divided into two basic forms: positive cultures and negative cultures. Numerous researchers, educators, and writers have attempted to define the major features of positive and negative school cultures, and an abundance of studies, articles, and books are available on the topic. In addition, many educational organizations, such as the National School Climate Center, have produced detailed descriptions of positive school cultures and developed strategies for improving them (given the complexity of the topic, however, it is not possible to describe all the distinctions here).

Broadly defined, positive school cultures are conducive to professional satisfaction, morale, and effectiveness, as well as to student learning, fulfillment, and well-being. The following list is a representative selection of a few characteristics commonly associated with positive school cultures:

• The individual successes of teachers and students are recognized and celebrated.

• Relationships and interactions are characterized by openness, trust, respect, and appreciation.

• Staff relationships are collegial, collaborative, and productive, and all staff members are held to high professional standards.

• Students and staff members feel emotionally and physical safe, and the school’s policies and facilities promote student safety.

• School leaders, teachers, and staff members model positive, healthy behaviors for students.

• Mistakes not punished as failures, but they are seen as opportunities to learn and grow for both students and educators.

• Students are consistently held to high academic expectations, and a majority of students meet or exceed those expectations.

• Important leadership decisions are made collaboratively with input from staff members, students, and parents.

• Criticism, when voiced, is constructive and well-intentioned, not antagonistic or self-serving.

• Educational resources and learning opportunities are equitably distributed, and all students, including minorities and students with disabilities.

• All students have access to the academic support and services they may need to succeed.

The source of this definition is: The Glossary of Education Reform.

 

My opinion on what I think is the ideal school culture.

The ideal school culture is:

• prizes independent interests and emphasizes autonomy

• conducts group activities in moderation and in small, carefully managed groups

• values kindness, caring, empathy, good citizenship

• insists on orderly classrooms and hallways

• organizes space into small, quiet classrooms

• chooses teachers who seem to understand the shy/serious/introverted/sensitive temperament

• focuses its academic/athletic/extracurricular activities on subjects that are particularly interesting to your child

• enforces an anti-bullying program

• emphasizes a tolerant, down-to-earth culture

• attracts like-minded peers, for example intellectual kids, or artistic or athletic ones, depending on your child’s preferences

• recognizes that student success is a complex goal to achieve. Providing for this success for all students and measuring it must be accomplished with many tools.  The same goes for the classroom.  If teachers are going to meet the needs of all students, they must build a toolbox of strategies that is geared towards diverse learners and learn how to work effectively with each of their students