Scribd
Upload
88 views3 pages

Elements of Positive Culture

A positive school culture is characterized by collegiality, experimentation, and high expectations. Teachers work as a team and share responsibility, while encouraging experimentation to allow for mistakes as part of learning. High expectations are important but must be communicated through teacher behavior to impact student achievement. A positive culture also includes trust, tangible support, professional growth, appreciation, caring, involvement in decision-making, protecting important values, traditions, and honest communication. Building a positive school culture affects learning and should be a priority for schools.

Uploaded by

DaniM
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
88 views3 pages

Elements of Positive Culture

A positive school culture is characterized by collegiality, experimentation, and high expectations. Teachers work as a team and share responsibility, while encouraging experimentation to allow for mistakes as part of learning. High expectations are important but must be communicated through teacher behavior to impact student achievement. A positive culture also includes trust, tangible support, professional growth, appreciation, caring, involvement in decision-making, protecting important values, traditions, and honest communication. Building a positive school culture affects learning and should be a priority for schools.

Uploaded by

DaniM
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Elements of Positive Culture

A positive school culture is characterized by the following:

1. COLLEGIALITY

— The school atmosphere is friendly. You work in an atmosphere where responsibility and authority are
shared by everyone.

2. EXPERIMENTATION

— The atmosphere encourages experimentation and so will welcome mistakes as part of the learning
process. No student, no teacher gets punished for a mistake. Mistakes ar intended. They give a lot of
lesson.

3. HIGH EXPECTATIONS

— It has been said one's level of achievement is always lower than one's level that aspiration. So set
high expectations for high achievement. Two problems arise here

Robert J. Marzano warns us: First, expectations are subtle and difficult to change Teachers may be
unaware that they have low expectations for some students; even when they become aware, they may
have difficulty changing their expectations because their beliefs and biases have developed over the
years.

Second, what actually communicates expectations to students is teacher behavior. If teachers


consciously work to change their biases but don't change their behavior toward those students from
whom they have tended to expect less, their change of attitude will have little effect on student
achievement.

4. TRUST AND CONFIDENCE


— Students, teachers, school heads and parents relate well and work well when relationships are solidly
built on trust and confidence.

5. TANGIBLE SUPPORT

— Everyone in the school community gets concrete support for the good that they do. Support comes in
not just in words but in action.

6. REACHING OUT TO THE KNOWLEDGE BASE

— Teachers care to g professionally to update themselves on content knowledge and pedagogy, the first
domain in the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers.

7. APPRECIATION AND RECOGNITION

— Words of appreciation and recognition makes classroom climate highly favorable.

— "You are not made less when you praise others. Instead, you become magnanimous."

8. CARING, CELEBRATION, HUMOR

— Kids don't care what you know until they know that you care. They don't listen to teacher when the
teacher doesn't care.

— "When kids are taught with proactive, praise-heavy approach, they tend to do better."

9. INVOLVEMENT IN DECISION-MAKING

— Involving others who are concerned with decisions to made enhances sense of ownership, and they
also feel important.

10. PROTECTION OF WHAT IS IMPORTANT

— What schools consider important must form part of their tradition and so must be protected by all
means.
11. TRADITIONS

— A school must have an intentional culture based program on shared values, beliefs and behaviors.
This strengthens the sense of community, motivating them to work hard toward a common purpose.

12. HONEST AND OPEN COMMUNICATION

— No one gets ostracized for speaking up his mind. The agreement at every discussion is "agree to
disagree".

TAKEAWAYS

• School culture is the character of a school that gives the school qualities beyond its structure,
resources, and practices. It is created by all the people in the school. It is not inherited and so is not
passed on through the genes.

• School culture includes school climate. School climate is relational while school culture is a deeper
level of reflection of shared values, beliefs and traditions.

• Undoubtedly, school culture affects learning and so schools must, by all means, build positive and not
toxic school culture.

• Shared norms for both teachers and students contirbute to a positive school culture.

You might also like