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Last updated April 10, 2022

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& School Culture - The Hidden Curriculum

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Terrance Deal and Kent Peterson contend that “the culture of an enterprise plays the dominant role in exemplary performance.” They define school culture as an “underground flow of feelings and folkways [wending] its way within schools” in the form of vision and values, beliefs and assumptions, rituals and ceremonies, history and stories, and physical symbols. 2 According to Deal and Peterson, research suggests that a strong, positive culture serves several beneficial functions (p. 2)

The study found that staff members in both high-performing and low-performing20 schools ranked “measuring and monitoring results” at the top of their lists. But high-performing schools also prioritized “a hunger for improvement,” “raising capability—helping people learn,” “focusing on the value added,” “promoting excellence—pushing the boundaries of achievement,” and “making sacrifices to put pupils first.” In contrast, low-performing schools valued statements such as “warmth—humour—repartee—feet on the ground,” “recognising personal circumstances—making allowances— toleration—it’s the effort that counts,” ISSUE BRIEF 5 and “creating a pleasant and collegial working environment.”21 (p. 4)

For example, school leaders might talk about values and beliefs, but no follow-up actions, traditions, ceremonies, or rituals reinforce those messages. Similarly, a teacher might be told that improving professional practice is a value but find that the school budget provides few resources for professional development or be asked to embrace a more collegial culture only to find that no time is designated for teachers to meet and plan together. (p. 5)

Hobby of the Hay Group lists five kinds of “reinforcing behaviors” as follows that send strong signals about vision and values: • Rituals: celebrations and ceremonies, rites of passage, and shared quirks and mannerisms. • Hero Making: role models, hierarchies, public rewards, and mentors. • Storytelling: shared humor, common anecdotes, foundation myths, and both oral and written history. • Symbolic Display: decoration, artwork, trophies, and architecture. • Rules: etiquette, formal rules, taboos, and tacit permissions.23 (p. 6)

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Created:: 2021-11-09 13:11


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