But what is an ineffective school? Good schools of this were 1965 the context of change a story of change - the Halton effective school project school effectiveness can inform school improvement the possibilities and challenges of school improvement school . , Effects of cultural diversity on in-class communication and student project team dynamics: Creating synergy in the diverse classroom. However, Cardno (2007) argues that the dilemma created by the need to give negative feedback and to save face, for example in appraisal, often emphasized as a cultural context in Chinese societies, is in fact universal. (2003). , As a consequence, leaders must be equipped to work with both imported as well as indigenous culture. (2007). There are different typologies that can be used to assess. Culture can then be viewed in shorthand as: In fact, Hofstedes work shows very great variation within regions. We must be aware that the spread of good practice internationally through the educational management literature, through the actions of international organisations such as UNESCO, and through the impact of professional development programmes, all of which are dominated by the perspectives of western educational management practitioners and academics, is in danger of presenting such a global picture of good practice. & Stoll and Fink (1996) developed a model in determining the school culture. (1997). 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. Lakomski, G. 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. Two typologies are developed. School culture and culture in general are often labeled as self-evident. Hoppe (2004) suggests that experiential learning proves enjoyable and effective for US leaders while French and German leaders often view this approach as time-wasting childs play (p. 353). 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. Cultural Influences on Leadership and Organizations: Project Globe. International Journal for Leadership in Education, 4(4), 321332. 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). 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. Metaphorically culture is like the air we breathe; all around us, vital, and yet difficult to discern and to change. (2004). L. & ), The Life and Work of Teachers (pp. , In crafting school culture, school leaders (principals, teachers, and parents) act as models, potters, poets, actors, and healers. (1996). Prasad Systems theory enables us to conceptualize every school and educational organization as being characterized 1) by a range of inputs, 2) by the processes in operation within the school, and 3) by a set of outputs and in each of these three elements of the system we can identify culture as a key component. Adler, N. (1996). , (2001). Our intent in this paper is to provide a retrospective of the past few years to provide some helpful insights into the change process in school systems. In this line, a study . Developing the argument further, Litvins point is that even within an apparently homogeneous group there will be wide variation in culture related to the multiple characteristics, history and context of each individual. 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. 178190). McCauley Cultures Consequences, Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations (2nd ed.). (1998). Online publication date: May 2009, Print ISBN: 9780415988476 Hodgkinson (2001) argues that culture is always determining, subliminally and subconsciously, our value orientation and judgments. London: Sage. The attempt to mould culture in any direction involves alignment with some and challenge to others. Cultural fluency will be predicated on more than cognitive effort (Lakomski, 2001). Hanges, S. In Saudi Arabia a command system is accepted by culture and tradition and schools have, in any case, little power to take decisions. Commentary. (Hoppe, 2004, p. 333). Dorfman and House (2004) suggest three competing propositions: that cultural congruence in development and leadership is more effective; that cultural difference can be stimulating and bring about positive change; that leadership is universal activity. Cranston, N. Hofstede, G. The result is that most preparation and development takes egalitarian participation and transformational leadership as key (Bush & Jackson, 2002). Mapping the conceptual terrain of leadership: a critical point for departure for cross-cultural studies. While there may be commonalities within a whole school, in practice each of these levels will differ in the detail of its culture. Where there is any element of selectivity of pupils, whether by ability/prior achievement or by geography or by capacity to pay, then the school will be involved in processes of cultural selection. Prosser, J. & It enriches the theory related to school culture and the research findings that have been identified in the Western settings. Walker, A. (2001). Cross-cultural understandings of leadership: themes from Native American interviews. It is also a response to the greater sensitivity brought about by the increasing diversity within many societies and the insistence that a perspective based on a single dominant culture risks sustaining a hegemonic, ineffective and excluding approach. . ), Leading Schools in a Global Era: A Cultural Perspective, Peabody Journal of Education, Litvin, D. R. The interrelationship of culture with leadership and its development is the focus of this chapter. The former has received very little and the latter a good deal more attention (Gronn, 2001; Heck, 1996). Qiang, H. 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. We would also suggest that pupils, although seldom asked, would hold . Despite some advances since that time, understanding of culture and its relationship to leadership and its development remains empirically underdeveloped. Journal of Management Development, 15(5), 421. | Contact us | Help & FAQs Much leadership theory reflects Anglophone and particularly US culture which Hoppe (2004, p. 335) suggests is consistently described as being individualistic, egalitarian, performance derived, comfortable with change, and action-and-data-oriented. Shah, S. As within continents or regions, within each nation, a common culture cannot be assumed, the differences between the culture of Native Americans, Hispanic and African American women and that of white males within the United States being an example given above. By continuing to use the site For example, Walker, Bridges and Chan (1996) provide a rare example of research into the fit of a particular learning approach, problem-based-learning, to a specific cultural context, Hong Kong. Cultural isolation is difficult, even in societies which seek strongly to conserve traditional cultural values within their educational systems. Louque, A. The culture of a school is one of its critical organizational characteristics. & Bottery (1999) has described this as managerial globalization, in which the adoption of western managerialist approaches and business-based forms of accountability underpins educational reform and development. (1990). Changing our schools : linking school effectiveness and school improvement. Its view of the nature of human activity does it believe that people behave in a dominant/proactive mode or a passive/fatalistic mode? Managing diversity in transnational project teams. Finally, we identify key issues and areas for future research. The Australian Principals Centre: A model for the accreditation and professional development of the principalship. Its view of the nature of human relationships are people essentially collaborative or competitive, do they function best in groups or as individuals? Each of the cultures influences and is influenced by each of the others. ), Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: the GLOBE study of 62 Societies (pp. The design of curriculum and delivery is therefore to an extent a cultural guessing game requiring those responsible for preparation and development to hold a high level of cultural fluency themselves and to support the development of cultural fluency in others. Rusch, E. Hoppe asserts that US leaders find difficulty with accepting supportive relationships. Culture is shaped by five interwoven elements, each of which principals have the power to influence: Fundamental beliefs and assumptions, or the things that people at your school consider to be true. Begley, P. as cited in Stoll, Fink & Earl, 2003, p. 132). There is also a preference to face facts whether positive or negative. & 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. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Cardno, C. Ruiz-Quintanilla, A. ), The University Council for Educational Administration: Handbook of Research on the Education of School Leaders, Lumby, J. Deal, T. A tentative model and case study. (2004). Archer (1996, p. 1) contends that the notion of culture remains inordinately vague to the extent that poverty of conceptualization leads to culture being grasped rather than analysed. Waters (1995) has identified three interwoven strands to globalization political globalization, economic globalization and cultural globalization. Dorfman (Eds. Whittier Christian High School is a highly rated, private, Christian school located in LA HABRA, CA. A. In At first sight these components of culture may be thought to be significantly outside the control of schools themselves. From showcase to shadow: understanding dilemmas of managing workplace diversity. Preparing leaders involves considering the nature and impact of culture on the crafting of their development (for example, the curriculum or mode of delivery). Research in such contexts is still not extensive, although Billot, Goddard and Cranston (2007) report the findings of an international study which explores how leadership in successful multi-cultural schools is exercised in three different national settings (Canada, New Zealand and Australia). (Forthcoming). Conference of the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management, Collard, J. The first relates to the ways the day-to-day operations of the school interact with the outside world. The first is the blending of western (or, more correctly, exogenous) cultural values with existing cultures to generate a new cultural environment, a model sometimes described as the melting pot perspective. Heck, R. , C P. J. These may be through processes of exclusion or processes of inclusion, resulting in a relatively homogeneous or diverse student body, but in either case the outcome will be a pupil profile which reflects a particular set of cultural characteristics. V. 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. , & (1991). (Eds. 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: International Studies in Educational Administration. (Eds. every organization must have a person in charge, acute awareness of the expenditure of time, an obligation to accommodate others right to participate. Secondly, investigations of the cultural fit of transmission and process models of learning would support those responsible for design in making more appropriate choices. Bush House, R. J. The concept of culture has appeared frequently in analyses of both. This may be due in part to the fact that understanding culture and its connection to leadership in education is a poorly researched field. (2007). In Sierra Vista Elementary 1800 E. Whittier Boulevard La Habra, CA 90631 Phone: 562-690-2359. We present here a small number of examples in order to illustrate a range of typologies. Hanges 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. Brunner (1996). UCEA. International Journal of Leadership In Education, 4(4),297307. Kachelhoffer, P. Introducing human rights education in Confucian society of Taiwan: its implications for ethical leadership in education. School Effectiveness and School Improvement. It will therefore involve engagement with the moral choices which lie at the heart of leadership. School culture . A primary aim of the chapter therefore is to explore how we understand culture in its infinitely variable expressions, and how it relates to the design and implementation of leadership preparation and development programs. Abstract. Can leadership enhance school effectiveness? Bajunid, I. , Training and educating principals for such cultural literacy is the focus of later sections in this chapter. Unproductive, toxic schools have fragmented staffs, eroding goals, and negative, hopeless atmospheres. The project established 21 common perceived effective leadership attributes and behaviors within the 57 participating nations, providing evidence of widespread assumptions about leadership. A similar situation is the case in Norway and in Japan (Moller, 2000). 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. What we mean by the term culture is both argued to be generally understood (Lumby, Walker, Bryant, Bush & Bjork, forthcoming) and suggested not to be understood, misunderstood or so variously understood as to be verging on meaningless. with Schein, E. H. (See, for example, Buruma and Margal-its book, Occidentalism: The west in the eyes of its enemies.) | How to buy While the analytical models described are helpful in conceptualizing the nature of culture, there are a number of key issues for leaders to recognize in reflecting on their own organizations. Educational Management and Administration. P., Glatter (1985). 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. An international perspective on leadership preparation. Moral leadership in education: an Indian perspective. Spicing it op: Blending perspectives of leadership and cultural values from Hispanic American and African American women scholars. , & (Eds. Zhang, J. H. Hofstede (2003) has argued strongly that there are measurable differences between the cultures of nations. Choices will continue as culture evolves and the perspectives of all players mutate over time. Culture can take different forms. Cultural processes, the second element of a systems perspective, will be reflected in almost every dimension of the operation of the school. & Cultural diversity and group work effectiveness. 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. 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. Rather, cultural competency, the ability to recognize, analyze and engage purposefully with culture at the macro and micro levels is a foundational skill, which positions educational leadership as critical contributors to shaping society and not just the school. & Lumby et al. (Hoppe, 2004, p. 333), 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. E. & Here we shall consider three of these perspectives which we believe provide diverse insights reflections on the tangible components of culture and a number of models of those components in action; consideration of the organizational scales at which culture is important in educational contexts; and a systems view of culture which enables the areas of potential management influence of culture in schools to be identified. The key dimension of cultural scales is that they all exist synchronously, and they all interact upwards and downwards. Hallinger, P. London: Paul Chapman. He suggests that schools are bastions of conservatism, not centers of social experimentation. If leaders believe that a dominant culture is identifiable or achievable, and that it is a single, stable and unifying phenomenon, then changing it becomes a matter of choice, but relatively straightforward and without any moral ramifications. Jacky Lumby Bell (1995). (2001). Women and leadership: The views of women who are . Bryant, M. Walker, J. R. 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. Leadership and intercultural dynamics. The school leader is therefore at the fulcrum point, subject to exogenous effects of culture, refracted in part through his or her leadership development and personal cultural locus, and in turn engaging with endogenous culture in the school and its community. There are no essential, innate and immutable characteristics of race, age, gender, disability or other demographic categories. Powell, Farrar and Cohen (1985) used research from fifteen high schools to depict a culture of easy and uncritical acceptance of underachievement. Education researchers have also assumed such common attributes, for example, integrity (Begley, 2004; Bhindi & Duignan, 1997). & The focus on culture at the macro or societal level is matched by concern with the micro or organizational level, the school level. Sparrow, P. One dimension of fit may relate to ease with receiving positive and negative feedback and from whom. In many countries the principal may indeed be key. Identity based and reputational leadership: an American Indian approach to leadership. Analysis of culture embedded in preparation and development programs will involve discriminating between what is rhetorical and what is evidenced. Secondly, it considers the important issue of the macro relationship of culture and globalization. London: Paul Chapman. At the operational scale, the leader may focus on the culture within the institution in order to facilitate the achievement of institutional improvement, with culture conceptualized as an agent of change. Consequently, although there is relatively little empirical data on which to draw, the issue of fit between culture and the conception, development and enactment of leadership has become a key concern. Mabey An example of the cultural challenges that emerge from this has been described by Hallinger and Kantamara (2001) in the context of Thailand. Fink, D. I am a member of the publication's editorial board and strongly support the publication, Authored by: Journal of Educational Administration, 334(5), 1231. Nick Foskett, Print publication date: July 2008 Trond Hallinger (2001) notes the changing aims of Asian education and specifically the global standards applied to assessing the quality of education in Hong Kong. Education. (2004) also found evidence of 35 aspects of leadership which are culturally specific, for example, the degree to which compassion, status-consciousness, autonomy and domination are perceived to contribute to effective leadership is culturally contingent. In recognizing that culture has dimensions at a wide range of scales of analysis, we explicitly acknowledge that it raises challenges for school leaders in relation to each of these scales. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 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. we elaborated a typology of school improvement trajectories: we identi ed 4 di erent trajectories of school improvement. House, R. J. 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. Panel 3. Fernandez Chan, B. and 'learning school'; and contacts with leading experts in this area of work which led to identification of additional literature. Corporate rituals: The rites and fituals of corporate life. (Eds. Cultures and Organisations: Software of the Mind. Educational Management & Administration, Billot, J. P. . 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. Nor is it amoral. Imperial Middle School 1450 S. Schoolwood Dr. La Habra, CA 90631 Phone: 562-690-2344. Decisions to encourage acceptance or critique of the dominant culture and its effect lie at the moral heart of supporting the education of leaders. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Duignan, P. Such simple categorizations provide briefly interesting analytical tools to assist school leaders in gaining an initial understanding of their school culture, but are of limited wider utility. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 8(3), 207221. For example, culture is suggested to both shape and reflect values (Begley & Wong, 2001), philosophy (Ribbins & Zhang, 2004), gender (Celikten, 2005), religion (Sapre & Ranade, 2001), politics (Hwang, 2001), ethnicity (Bryant, 1998) and history (Wong, 2001).