Good SeedsGrow in StrongCultures

Regardless of thefocus of particularchange efforts,schools need tonurture and buildon the culturalnorms thatcontribute togrowth.

from the confluence of four ele-ments: the strengthening of

teachers' skills, the systematic renova-tion of curriculum, the improvementof the organization, and the involve-ment of parents and citizens in re-sponsible school-community partner-ships. Underlying all four strands,however, is a school culture that eitherenergizes or undermines them. Essen-tially, the culture of the school is thefoundation for school improvement, aview summarized bv Purkev and Smith(1982):

we have argued that an academicallyeffective school is distinguished by its cul-ture: a structure, process, and climate ofvalues and norms that channel staff andstudents in the direction of successfulteaching and learning. The logic of thecultural model is such that it points toincreasing the organizational effectivenessof a school building and is neither grade-level nor curriculum specific (p 68)

If certain norms of school cultureare strong, improvements in instruc-tion will be significant, continuous,and widespread: if these norms areweak, improvements will be at bestinfrequent, random, and slow. Theywill then depend on the unsupportedenergies of hungry self-starters and beconfined to individual classroomsover short periods of time. The best

J.on Saphier is President, Researchfor BetterTeaching, and Mattbeuw King is Suern'nten-dent and Principal. Carlisle Prublic Schools,Carlisle, Massachuserts

workshops or ideas brought in fromthe outside will have little effect. Inshort, good seeds will not grow inweak cultures.

Giving shape and direction to aschool's culture should be a clear.articulated vision of what the schoolstands for, a vision that embodies corevalues and purposes. Examples of corevalues might be community building,problem-solving skills, or effectivecommunication. These value commit-ments varv from community to com-munitvy what is important for schoolleaders to know is the role of values asthe fuel of school improvement. Ifcore values are the fuel, then schoolculture is the engine.

The 12 Norms of SchoolCultureThe cultural norms listed in Figure 1can be supported where the- exist andbuilt where thev do not by leaders andstaff. The degree to which these norms

MARCH 1985 69

FInB 1. The Cafw NeinMp *AI d Sd 64. * w e v

4. Couet cd

3. Hligh Nv·Lens4. Tu al enf5. Tai l suport6. Reaching out to the knobwedge

bames7. AppreW don and Trecoitn8. Caring, ceb'watOn, and humor9. Invlvement in decdson mding

10. Proteon whfas yo11. Traditions12. Honest, open communication

are strong makes a huge difference inthe ability of school improvement ac-tivities to have a lasting, or even any,effect Building these norms dependsequally on teachers' will and commit-ment since good leadership alone can-not make them strong; but withoutsuch leadership, culture cannot beginto grow or be expected to endure.

While we discuss these norms fromthe teacher's point of view, becauseteachers are culture shapers, it is im-portant to bear in mind that there is astudent culture as well. The same 12norms apply to the culture of theschool for students, but thev are adirect reflection of what adults arecapable of modeling among them-selves.

Wherever these norms exist, theyreside in teachers' and administrators'beliefs and show up in their actions.The following are hypothetical state-ments that represent what teachersbelieve and how they behave-notidle words in philosophy documents,but real actions rooted in beliefs ofmost of the faculty in a school with astrong culture.

1. Collegiality."'n this school the professional staff

help each other. We have similar chal-lenges and needs and different talentsand knowledge When I was havingproblems with cliquishness among thegirls, I brought it up at lunch and gotsome excellent ideas from the otherteachers. I wasn't afraid to bring it upbecause I know people here are on myside. If someone thinks they) hear astrange noise coming from my room,they'll stop to check it out It isn'teveryonefor themselves and just mindyour own business.

"I think these people are darn goodat what they do. I know I can learnfrom them and believe I have things tooffer in return. Sometimes we evaluateand develop curriculum and plan spe-cial projects together, like Esther, Lor-rie, and Allen doing the one-week SCISworkshop for all of us this summer.Teaching each other sometimes re-quires more time to plan than 'epert-led workshops, but it allows us towork together on a significant projectSimilarly our study groups-orga-nized around topics such as coopera-tive learning thinking skills, and in-volving senior citizenr--allow us toexchange ideas. In this school we resist

the notion that teaching is our secondmost private activity.' "

2. Experimentation'Teaching is an intellectually excit-

ing activity Around here we are en-couraged by administrators and col-leagues to exeriment with new ideasand techniques because that is howteachers and schools improve. And wecan drop experiments that do notwork and be rewarded for havingtried We are always lookingfor moreeffective ways of teaching. Just lastyearwe published 'Opening ClassroomDoors,' a booklet with short descrip-tions of new ideas tried in classrooms.One teacher, for example, shared howshe used jigsaw activities to do cooper-ative learning in social studies "

3. High Expectations"In this school the teachers and ad-

ministrators are held accountable forhigh performance through regularevaluations. We are specifically expect-ed to practice collegiality and to ex-periment with new ideas. We are re-warded when we do and sanctioned ifwe don't Our continued professionaldevelopment is highly valued by theschool community. While we oftenfeel

under pressure to excel, we thrive onbeing part of a dynamic organiza-tion. "

4. Trust and Confidence'Administrators and parents trust

my professional judgment and com-mitment to improvement-no matterhow effective I already am-and showconfidence in my ability to carry outmy professional development and todesign instructional activities. We areencouraged to bring new ideas intoour classes and given discretion withbudgetsfor instructional materials"

5. Tangible Support'When I need help to improve ml'

instruction, people extend themselvesto help me with both time and re-sources. Indeed, when resources be-come scarce, professional development remains a priority Around herepeople believe the professional knowl-edge and skills of teachers are so im-portant to good schooling that devel-oping human resources is a high andcontinued commitment Despite fi-nancial constraints we still have sabh-baticals, summer curriculum uork-shops, and funds to attendprofessional conferences"

Reaching Out to the Knowledge Base

EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP68

"Cultures are builtthrough theeveryday businessof school life. It isthe way businessis handled thatboth forms andreflects theculture."

These first five norms have compli-cated and dependent relationshipswith one another Little (1981) haswritten at length about the first threenorms in her studies of ''goodschools." In these schools, leadershave high expectations that teacherswill be collegial and experiment intheir teaching. Rather than being de-pendent on fortuitous chemistry in agroup (though it helps). collegialit3 ' isan expectation that is explicitly statedbv the leader, rewarded when it hap-pens, and sanctioned when it doesn'tBarth (1984) goes so far as to arguethat "the nature of the relationshipsamong the adults who inhabit a schoolhas more to do with the school's quali-tv and character, and with the accom-plishment of its pupils, than any otherfactor." The importance of leaders be-ing explicit about what they want andpressing for it is supported by recentwork on school change (Loucks,1983). While leaders need to be directabout what they expect. excellent lead-ers allow people plenty of latitude inchoosing how thev realize it:

My interpretation of the schox)l effective-ness literature leads me to believe thatthese schools are both tightly coupled andloosely coupled, an observation noted aswell by Peters and Waterman in their stud-ies of America's best run corporationsThere exists in excellent schooxls a strongculture and clear sense of purpose. ,whichdefines the general thrust and nature of lifefor their inhabitants At the same time, agreat deal of freedom is given to teachersand others as to how these essential corevalues are to be honored and realized Thiscombination of tight structure aroundclear and explicit themes. which representthe core of the school's culture, and ofautonomy for people to pursue thesethemes in ways that make sense to them,may well be a key reason for their success(Sergiovanni. 1984, p 13)

Thus, leaders might require teach-ers to work on expanding their reper-toires of teaching skills but leave thechoice of how and what up to them.Simultaneously, though, these leaderswould offer tangible support-for ex-ample, one release afternoon amonth-and provide a menu of op-tions such as in-house study groups.outside speakers, tuition for attendingworkshops or courses. or support forindividual projects.

6. Reaching Out to the KnowledgeBase

'Toere are generic knowledge bxaesabout teadcing skills and bou studentslearn, about teacbing methods in par-ticular areas: about young peoplescognitive and affectnit det elopmeo 't.and about each of the academic disci-plines These knowledge bases arepractical, accessible, and ezr, large.Teachers anud supertisors are contin-uallh reaching out to themn to improt etheir teaching and suxpenr ision.

There are two features of this normwe would like to highlight. The first isits aggressively curious nature Thereis always more to learn. and we canrespond to that understanding withenergy and reach out beyond ourclasses or our buildings, sharing iour-nals. attending workshops. visitingeach other and other sites A principalcould model this bv inviting severalteachers to visit another school withhim or her Such an activity mightbuild collegialitT by bringing togetherteachers who don't normally work to-gether Indeed. as much may happenduring the ride together and overlunch as happens during the visit itself

The second feature of this norm isthe realinr and usefulness of theseknowledge bases. The erroneous be-lief that there is no knowledge baseabout teaching limits any vision ofteacher improvement. It is also isolat-ing because in the absence of knowl-edge. gooxd teaching must be intuitive;if "goodness" is inborn and intuitive.then having problems is a sign ofinadequacy or too little of the "rightstuff." This svndrome discourages talk-ing about one's teaching. especiallyone's problems. Furthermore. if goodteaching is intuitive and there's noknowledge base. what's the good ofworking on improvement?

But the knowledge base on teachingis very real and expanding all the time.It tells us that there are certain thingsthat all teachers do, regardless of agegroup, grade. or subject. It tells us thesituations or missions that all teachershave to deal with in one wav or anoth-er. It also tells us what our options arefor dealing with each area of teaching,and that matching behaviors and tech-niques to specific students is the nameof the game In some cases, it evengives us guidelines for how to goabout the matching.

Teachers make decisions and act todeal with numerous aspects of theirinstruction and relationships with stu-dents. For example. experts agree thatthere are dozens of way's to gain andmaintain attention. several kinds ofobjectives (Saphier and Gower. 1982),and over 20 models of teaching o(oyceand Weil. 1980). Because there aremanv wavas to deal with each of themxTiad of teaching tasks., skillful teach-ing involves continually broadeningone's repertoire in each area and pick-ing from it appropriately to matchparticular students and curriculums.The knowledge base about teaching isthe available repertoire of moves andpatterns of action in any area, availablefor anvone to learn. to refine. and todo skillfully.

"Giving shape anddirection to aschool's cultureshould be a clear,articulated visionof what the schoolstands for, a visionthat embodiescore values andpurposes."

MARCH 1985 69

Caring, Celebration, and HumorConsider another knowledge base.

Each subject has, in addition to theformal knowledge of its discipline, ahow-to knowledge base of teachingmethods and materials. Where it is thenorm to consult the knowledge bases,teachers are reaching to learn newmethods and examine the latest mate-rials and not to find the single bestones, because there are no best ones.They seek to expand their repertoiresSo as to expand their capacity to reachstudents with appropriate instruction.

This particular norm, reaching outto the knowledge bases, is one of theleast understood and most neglected.It is also one of the most powerful forrejuvenating an ailing school culture.In schools where the knowledge basesare cultivated, a common language fortalking about instruction emerges.This language reduces the isolationcommonly experienced by teachers(Lortie, 1972).

7. Appreciation and Recognition"Good teaching is honored in this

school and community The other dayIfound a short notefrom theprincipalin my mailbox: ,hben Todd and Char-ley were rough-housing in the hall youspoke to them promptly andfirml, yettreated them maturely by explaingthe uiss of your intervention. It reallymakes our grown-up talk about re-spect mean something uwhen teachers

take responsihilin for all kids the ual'you do. 'Hejoust obser 'ed that incidentfor a minute, yet took the time to gi 'eme feedback. (Somehou' it had moreimpact in writing, too.) Things likethat make mefeel there is a real valueplaced on what I do u ith students Iam recognized for m'l efforts aindachiet ements in the classroom and theschool "

There are mans ways this messagecan be sent: teacher recognition as aregular feature of school committeemeetings; PTA luncheons at the begin-ning and end of the year for facultyand staff; short notes in teachers' mail-boxes from a principal who notessomething praiseworthy during a walkaround the building; perhaps evensuperior service awards written upeach year in local newspapers withstipends given annually to a few teach-ers. Of course, underlying these effortsshould be a pay scale that is at leastcompetitive with neighboring districts.

8. Caring, Celebration, andHumor

'There are quite a number of occa-sions when we show our caring foreach other and awareness of signifi-cant events in each others' lives, as wellas celebrating benchmarks in the lifeof the school Estelle, for example,somehow arranges a 15-minute partywith some good), for every faculty

member's birthda,y in her building Weoften haie these short but satisfyinglittle gatherings in the teachers roombefore the kids come in. There is a lotof humor and laughing together inthis school "

9. Involvement In DecisionMaking

"I am included in certain meaning-ful decision-making processes in thisschool, especially when they directl,affect me or my kids That doesn'tmean I am consulted on allpolicies ordecisions; hut to tell vou the truth, Idon't u ant to be-I'd neter get all ofmya own wuork done. But uhen I amconsulted, it s not a phorm gesture; ml,input is taken seriously. And there aremechanisms open for me to raise is-sues Last spring I asked the facultyadvisonry council to look at howu kidswere treating each other in the hallsThat led to a faculty brainstormingsession on the topic of school climate Idon 't alunays get people to buy, into mylissues, or even ask them to But uhen Ido, the issues are treated seriously, andI am esteemed for bringing them upetven if nO, solutions do not carry thedal "

10. Protection of What's Important'Administrators protect my, instruc-

tion and planning time b, keepingmeetings and paperwork to a mini-mum In fact, ue don't etven ha'efaculty meetings in the usual sense..certainly not just for business and

announcements Those needs get co,-ered by memos and uword-of-mouthcontact with the principal When uwedo meet, it is for curriculum andinstruction purposes, often in smallgroups like the study group on learn-ing stles I was in lrat spring"

11. Traditions'There is aluavs something special

to lookforward to as I scan the calen-dar Be it a fair, a trip, or a scienceOnVmpiad, there are events coming upthat students and teachers alike see asrefreshing or challenging and a defi-nite change of pace Some of thesetraditions are rooted in ceremon,,others in activity, They exist both in thecurriculum as grade-level projects oractivities, and as recurrent evtents uith-in the life of the school "

12. Honest, Open Communication"I take responsibilityfor sending my

oun messages I can speak to ml'

Ei ;LCATIIONAI I.iL\I )IRIR.itl'70

colleagues and adminiaors dircty "The knowledge base on teachingand tactfuly when I have a concernor a beef ithout fear of losing ther iS very real and expanding all theesteem or damaging our relationsbhp.Around here people can disagree and time. It tells us that there arediscuss, confront and esolve matters certain things that all teachers do,in a constructive manner and still besupportive of each other And I can regardless of age group, grade, orlisten to criticism as an opportuniyfor self-improvement without feeling subjthreatened "

Robert Hinton captures these quali-ties when describing changing rela-tionships in a Chinese village duringthe revolution:

One had to cultivate the courage tovoice sincerely held opinions regardless ofthe views held by others, while at the sametime showing a willingness to listen toothers and to change one's own opinionwhen honestly convinced of error. To bowwith the wind, to go along with the crowdwas an irresponsible attitude that couldnever lead to anything but trouble .... Thereverse of this, to be arrogant and unbend-ing, was just as bad (Hinton, 1966, p. 395).

This type of communication is sup-ported by several of the culturalnorms Difficult issues and criticismrequire an inner conviction that one isall right and respected by others. Ap-preciation and Recognition, Involve -ment in Decision Making, and Reach-ing Out to the Knowledge Basessupport this kind of mutual respect.

How to Build the Norms of iSchool CultureSergiovanni (1984) describes fiveleadership forces where actions makea difference in building good schools(see Figure 2). Effective leaders haveskills with which to apply each force.

Technical skills pertain to such man- .,agerial matters as scheduling and dele-gating; human skills include listening, '

Figure 2. Sergiovanni's LeadershipForces that Build Good Schools.

Cultural

Educational

Human

TechnicalTrust and Confidence

MARCH 1985

group dynamics, and conflict resolu-tion. Educational skills include knowl-edge about teaching and learning;symbolic skills include knowledge ofand commitment to core institutionalvalues and ways of articulating andrepresenting them. And the culturalarena involves building norms such asthe 12 discussed here. But if we are tounderstand what leaders do to buildand maintain excellence in schools,the relationship among these fiveforces and arenas for action needsexpansion.

Leaders show their technical, hu-man, and educational skills throughactivities that call them forth ratherdirectly. A parents' night must he orga-nized (technical and human): difficultmeetings chaired (human): and con-ferences held after classrcx)m observa-tions (human and educational). Weoffer the proposition that leaders show

RFigre 3 Cultura and Synboic Skis.

Educational

Human

Technial

SVl

"Our districtdistributes $6,000service awards forrecognizingteachers'contributions in avariety of areas."

their symbolic and culture-buildingskills through those same activitiesand not in separate activities that areexclusively symbolic or cultural (withexceptions like opening-of-schoolspeeches that are symbolic occasions).From this perspective Sergiovanni'sdiagram might be redrawn as shownin Figure 3

Cultures are built through the ev-ervdav business of school life. It is theway business is handled that bothforms and reflects the culture. Leaderswith culture-building on their mindsbring an ever-present awareness ofthese cultural norms to their dailyinteractions, decisions, and plans, thusshaping the wav events take place.Because of this dynamic, culture-building occurs simultaneously andthrough the way school people usetheir educational, human, and techni-cal skills in handling daily events orestablishing regular practices

For example, suppose there is inter-est in a revised curriculum planningprocedure. What would a culture-builder do in a leadership position? Asure way to prevent the crisis-manage-ment of curriculum-where smallnumbers of parents can successfullypressure a school board. superinten-dent, or principal to look into" acurriculum area such as science-is tomaintain a planning process that svstematically and routinely evaluates andrenovates all curriculum areas. Such asystem might ask parent-teacher com-mittees to assess the existing curricu-lum by reviewing literature, consult-ing experts, and interviewing parentsHaving estabished a curriculum'sstrengths and weaknesses, the com-mittee could write a statement of phi-losophy to guide the next phase-theidentification of new curriculums,texts, and activities-recognizing thatthe review process might well validateexisting programs

With the first phase of planningcomplete, the parents leave the com-mittee and turn the actual develop-ment of new curriculum over to thefacultv and administration. Over thenext several years programs and activi-ties are piloted and implemented,leading back to the evaluation phase inapproximately five years In this way

".... collegiality isan expectationthat is explicitlystated by theleader, rewardedwhen it happens,and sanctionedwhen it doesn't."

Eri) !(TIONAL LEADERS11IP

all curriculum areas can be located onthe planning cycle. While this ap-proach to curriculum planning can bedone by whole school systems, theprocess is especially powerful whenconducted in individual schotxls.

A planning process such as this isitself an opportunity for infusing thecultural norms into a school. A goodplace to start is with a leader offeringto parents and teachers Lightfoot's(1983) notion of a "consciousness ofimperfection," a perspective in whichwe assume that any school has areas ofstrength and weakness and that the"good" school is distinguished by itsopenness to dealing with its imperfec-tions The school leader could use thisopportunirt to point out how im-provements emerge from a culturethat embodies norms such as our 12.She or he can then outline a processthat demands experimentation by pi-loting new curriculum and encouragecollegiality by asking teachers to worktogether on evaluation and design.Central to the planning is a commilit-ment to involve stakeholders in deci-sion making while being clear aboutthe limits of their influence

After completing the review, theadministrator must ensure that teach-ers receive support to carry out theirplans. For example, if a science com-mittee recommends integrating mi-crocomputers into science labora-tories, funds need to be budgeted forpurchasing equipment and trainingteachers While providing support, theprincipal needs to emphasize the highexpectations she or he has for theirwork Building specific goals intoteachers' formal evaluation- lwhichshould take place no less than everythree vears-is a useful way of makingthe connection between support andhigh expectations. Down the road aprincipal will want to recognize teach-ers efforts by reporting to the superin-tendent and school board and perhapseven attaching rewards for their ef-forts. Our district distributes six thou-sand dollar service awards for recog-nizing teachers' contributiolns in avarietv of areas.

The culture builders in any schoolbring an ever-present awareness of the12 norms to everything they do in theconduct of dailh business It is this

MARCH 1985

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Chairman, Common CauseCentered on detailed casestudies of 15 representa-tive high schools, thislandmark book is "a com-prehensive plan for schoolimprovement that isexceptional in its breadthand creativity:'

-Terrel H. Bell, FormerSecretary of Education

Quantity discounts available.Write Dept. 372-RB, Harper & Row,10 E. 53rd St., New York, N.Y 10022At bookstotes, or callTOLL FREE (800} 638-3030

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THE PRINCIPAL ANDSCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

July 1-11, 195

This I I-day Institute. conducted by the Principals' Center at the Harvard Graduate Schoolof Education. will address three fundamental questions related to school improvement

· How can schools be improved from within?· What are some of the necessary components of school change'* How can individual school leaders respond creatively to renewed public

interest in school reform to improve their schoolsand theirown performance?

Drawing from faculty and researchers at the School of Education. school practitioners andothers recognized as leaders in the study of school improvement, this program will helpparticipants to:

· increase their understanding of the literature on school improvement:· develop strategies for implementing ideas and programs for their individual

settings:· establish pnonties for improving their schools.* explore the concept of a -principals' center- as a resource to support and

encourage school leaders

Enrollment will be limited to approximately 100 school leaders predominantl! principalswith some space available for assistant principals. guidance counselors. cumculum

coordinators, department chairpersons and teachersTuition for the I I-day Institute is $1.200. This includes one meal a day. all materials. andlibrary privileges.

For more information and application materials. wnte:

The Principals' Center Summer Institute339C Gutman Library6 Appian WayCambridge. MA 02138

or call (617) 495-3572

Pnnted materials will heavailable in late February.

-3

awareness and commitment to culturebuilding that is more important thanany single activity or structure in theschool organization. Once we areclear about what the important normsof a strong culture are, the activitiesand forms through which we buildthem are legion.

If we are serious about school im-provement and about attracting andretaining talented people to schoolcareers, then our highest priorityshould be to maintain reward struc-tures that nurture adult growth andsustain the school as an attractiveworkplace. A strong culture is crucialto making schools attractive work-places. If the norms we have outlinedare strong, the school will not only beattractive, it will be energized andconstantly improving U

References

Barth, Roland S Run School Run. Cam-bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,1980

Barth, Roland S "Sandboxes and Honey-bees" Education Week, May 1, 1984.

Deal, Terrence E, and Kennedy, Allan A.Corporate Cultures. Reading, Mass: Addi-son Wesley, 1982

Hinton, Robertn. Fanshen New York: Vin-tage Books, 1966

Joyce, Bruce, and Weil, Marsha Modelsof Teaching Englewood Cliffs, N J: Pren-tice Hall, 1980.

Lightfoot, Sarah Good tligh Schools:Portraits of Character and Culture. NewYork: Basic Books, 1983

Little, Judith Warren. "School Successand Staff Development in Urban Desegre-gated Schools: A Summary of RecentlyCompleted Research" Paper presented atthe annual meeting of the American Educa-

tion Research Association, Los Angeles,April 1981.

Lortie, Dan C. School Teacher Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 1972.

Loucks, Susan F. "At Last: Some GoodNews From a Study of School Improve-ment." Educational Leadership 41 (No-vember 1983): 4-9.

Peters, ThomassJ., and Waterman, RobertH., Jr. In Search of Excellence New York:Harper & Row, 1982.

Purkey, Stewart C, and Smith, MarshallS. "Too Soon to Cheer? Synthesis of Re-search on Effective Schools" EducationalLeadershp 40 (December 1982): 64-69

Saphier, Jon D., and Gower, Robert. TheSkillful Teacher Carlisle, Mass.: Researchfor Better Teaching, 1982

Sergiovanni, Thomas. "Leadership andExcellence in Schoo(ling." EducationalLeadership 41 (February 1984): 4-13

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