Prof Ed 312: The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and

Organizational Leadership

Unit 2 － School as a Social System

A. Social Systems Model

A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and

learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers.
The school has to reconstruct society through study and research in the higher
branches of learning. As a social system the school aims to prepare the students to
occupy social roles according to their capacities after leaving the school play
important functions in society. The social system of a school may constitute a
pattern of formal relationships as well as a pattern of informal relationship. However
many problems of school as a social system.

School is a special environment where a certain quality of life and certain

types of activities and occupations are provided with the object of securing the
child’s development along desirable lines. School are the most important part of the
society. It considered as one of the agency of the socialization process. It helps to
control the human behavior and develop theirs personality. School also prepare the
children for adult rules. In many times school is considered as an social system.
Social system refers to an orderly arrangement ,an inter relationships of parts. In
arrangement every part has a fixed place and definite role to play. The part are
bound by interaction. As a social system school is characterized by an inter-
dependent structure of parts, A clearly define population, differentiated from its
environment, a complex network of social relationships and its own unique culture.

School as a Social System

The social organization in the school consists of different roles and statuses
for the educator and the students. Among the teachers also there are different
statuses and roles according to their seniority, qualifications, specials skills and the
position of the hierarchy of the school. The headmaster in every school occupies a
pivotal position, more responsibility, more administrative power and therefore the
most important role. Similarly, among the educations also different students occupy
different statuses and roles in the schools according to their seniority, special skills
and allotted responsibilities. For example, the chief prefect is overall in charge of the
discipline among the students. Similarly, there are so many prefects who maintain
discipline in the school. Every class has a monitor who maintains law and order in the
classroom in the absence of the teacher and complains to the teacher about the
defaulter student.

As a social system the school aims to prepare the students to occupy social
roles according to their capacities after leaving the school. In India most of the rural
youths finish their studies after high school. Some of them do not go beyond the
middle schools. Therefore the functions of the middle schools and the high schools
in transmitting knowledge, skills and socialization are very important. As a social
system the first function of the school is to transmit knowledge and skills to the

Compiled by: Shara Joy P. Constantinopla, MALT (The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership R02-Module-2023)
 Prof Ed 312: The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership

younger generation. The technical schools transmit knowledge concerning so many

traits. The agricultural institutions tell the sons of cultivators about better means of
cultivation. All the schools impart knowledge of 3r’s,reading,writing and arithmetic.
This is necessary in order to help every male and female to skillfully manage the
household affairs and also matters concerning every day life. Beside transmitting
knowledge, the school as a social system transmits culture to the younger generation.

The younger generation learns future roles by means of perception and

identity formation both in the family and in the school. Extra-curricular activities in
the school are important to develop individual differences and particular skills of the
students. Thus some of them may develop social leadership qualities, other political
leadership traits and so on.

An important function of education is the development of the individuality of

the student. This individuality is develop by the development of individual skill and
the allotment of roles and statuses according to it. This should not be based upon
favors and prejudices. As a social system school is the best place to teach equality,
liberty and fraternity to the younger generation. It is the best preparation around for
practice of democratic traits in the wider social situation discipline among the
students. Similarly, there are so many prefects who maintain discipline in the school.
Every class has a monitor who maintains law and order in the classroom in the
absence of the teacher and complains to the teacher about the defaulter student. As
a social system the school aims to prepare the students to occupy social roles
according to their capacities after leaving the school. In India most of the rural
youths finish their studies after high school. Some of them do not go beyond the
middle schools. Therefore the functions of the middle schools and the high schools
in transmitting knowledge, skills and socialization are very important. As a social
system the first function of the school is to transmit knowledge and skills to the
younger generation. The technical schools transmit knowledge concerning so many
traits. The agricultural institutions tell the sons of cultivators about better means of
cultivation. All the schools impart knowledge of 3r’s,reading,writing and arithmetic.
This is necessary in order to help every male and female to skillfully manage the
household affairs and also matters concerning every day life. Beside transmitting
knowledge, the school as a social system transmits culture to the younger generation.
The younger generation learns future roles by means of perception and identity
formation both in the family and in the school. Extra-curricular activities in the
school are important to develop individual differences and particular skills of the
educands. Thus some of them may develop social leadership qualities, other political
leadership traits and so on. An important function of education is the development
of the individuality of the student. This individuality is develop by the development
of individual skill and the allotment of roles and statuses according to it. This should
not be based upon favors and prejudices. As a social system school is the best place
to teach equality, liberty and fraternity to the younger generation. It is the best
preparation around for practice of democratic traits in the wider social situation.

Compiled by: Shara Joy P. Constantinopla, MALT (The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership R02-Module-2023)
 Prof Ed 312: The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership

Compiled by: Shara Joy P. Constantinopla, MALT (The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership R02-Module-2023)
 Prof Ed 312: The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership

Above is a mind map about Social System Models of schools. In sociology, a

social system is a systematic network of relationships between individuals,
organizations, and institutions that form a coherent whole. In a small, stable group,
it is the formal framework of role and status can emerge. At any same time, an
individual may be a member of numerous social systems, which include nuclear
family units, communities, cities, nations, college campuses, corporations, and
industries. Various shared traits, such as geography, socioeconomic status, race,
religion, societal role, or other identifiable features, influence the organization and
definition of groups within a social system.

B. Key Elements of School as a Social System

Social system model for schools. Source: Hoy and Miskel (2013)

Structural system is explained based on formal bureaucratic expectations

view points, which are designed to attain the organizational goals. In schools, the
positions of principal, teacher, and student are essential and the positions are
defined based on established anticipations. Members have their own desires,
opinions, and intellectual visions towards their works. According to individual system
irrespective of formal positions, it is presumed that a significant way to understand
about administrators, teachers, students, and persons in the school as a social

Compiled by: Shara Joy P. Constantinopla, MALT (The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership R02-Module-2023)
 Prof Ed 312: The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership

system is to examine their desires, views, objectives as well as inspirations (Hoy &
Miskel, 2013).

Culture system is referred to as a vibrant link between bureaucratic role

demands and individual work which desires to take along people together in the
place of work. Consequently, organizations need to design their own unique cultures.
In school, shared values, norms, beliefs and way of thinking among teachers are
shared orientations from the culture of the school and significantly have an influence
on their conducts. Political system is a system of informal authority relationships that
seem to resist other systems of control. Individuals that operate within the confines
of the structure, culture and individual systems usually contribute to the needs of
the organization (Hoy & Miskel, 2013).

According to Scheerens (2013), there exist three different levels of structure

in the organization. They are: institutional, technical and managerial. The
institutional level relates the school with the outside environment. In schools,
principals, administrators and teachers need to be reinforced for them to accomplish
their tasks in a pleasant way that is devoid of unnecessary burden from outside of
the school. The technical function is the process of teaching and learning as the back
bone of all educational organizations. Technical core (teaching-learning process) is
the system of organizational activity where the real out-put of the organization is
produced. Like the organization, technical process in school is established by the
teaching and learning in the classroom. The managerial system is in control of
administering the internal affairs of the organizations (Hoy & Miskel, 2013).

Generally, the technical process (teaching and learning process) as an

important element of transformational process in open social system comprises all
of the school activities that will lead to producing the real products of school and
provides a vibrant picture of the school with the feedback mechanism. The internal
components of social system are consistent with each other in a dynamic process to
produce an effective school. Thus, it can be established that school effectiveness is
positively related to the task of internal elements of social system (Tarter & Hoy,
2004). There exist in schools the basic features of the social system, which are,
interaction of multiplicity of individuals, regular interaction within school
communities and individuals with different roles and interact with each other with a
view to attain the school goals (Katz & Kahn, 1978). This subsequently characterizes
school as a systematically arranged organization. As a result, it can be established
that school is certainly a social system. However, school as a social system is not
isolated from its surrounding environment; this is due to the fact that school
interrelates consistently with the surrounding or environment as described by open
system theory (Katz & Kahn, 1978). There are three perceptions towards systems,
which are rational-system, natural-systems and open-systems (Scott, 1998). The
rational-system perspective considers organizations as formal instruments intended
to reach predefined goals of organization with utmost efficiency. The natural-
systems perspective is in disagreement with the rational-systems perspective. The
natural-systems views organizations as organisms than machines. It is based on the
human relations approach and similar to the rational systems model moved from a

Compiled by: Shara Joy P. Constantinopla, MALT (The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership R02-Module-2023)
 Prof Ed 312: The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership

closed to open-systems perspective. By assuming the school as an open-system,

both rational and natural systems are being considered. Clearly both formal and
informal aspects, as well as structure and people, are essential to comprehend the
organizations. Furthermore, the open-systems model has the potential to provide a
synthesis by linking the rational and natural perspectives (DiPaola & Hoy, 2013).

An effective school is a complex system in which staff commitment leads to

managing and directing the interdependent elements in order to successfully
accomplish the mission of learning (Lezotte & Snyder 2010). According to the
philosophy of effective school, the aim of school is that of teaching and learning, and
the other elements must be seen as being service to it. According to Lezotte &
Snyder (2010), leading the school without assuming it as a system will be led to
attaining the modest improvement. Components of a social system are essential for
the survival of school as a system for they provide the leading indicators that have
positive effect on student learning. Each of the components of a social system can be
viewed as a necessary subsystem that meets the three standards of effective school,
which are (1) have a clear goal and mission (2) being manageable (3) have a broad
staff commitment to goal achievement (Deming, 1993; Lezotte & Snyder, 2010).
Moreover, Scott (2007) indicated that all schools are open systems. Therefore,
school and classroom can be viewed as a social system. Open systems consist of
inputs (labour, students and money from the environment human, material,
financial, or information resources), educational transformation process (quantity,
quality, and consistency of the internal processes and structures that transform the
inputs to output), outputs (enhances students, academic achievement, teachers’
motivation and satisfaction), feedback and the environment (Parsons & Halsey, 1959;
Hoy and Miskel, 2013; Scott, 2007). According to Hoy & Miskel (2013), outputs of
schools are a function of the interaction of teaching and learning in the process of
transformation, which, refer to the internal operations of effective school as an open
system. According to the integrated model of organizational effectiveness by Hoy &
Miskel (2001), specific indicators of transformation process in open social system
include instructional leadership, learning time, curriculum quality, school and
classroom, climate health, harmony and vision, which can come from each phase of
the cycles of the open social system model.

To sum up everything, all social systems have some activities and functions
that are accomplished in a fairly stable fashion. For example, if we conceived of
society itself a social system, then the routine and imperative functions of educating,
protecting, and governing are performed by educational, legal and governmental
institutions. According to the social system model for schools, organizational
performance is determined by key internal elements such as structure, the individual,
culture, politics, technical core, environment, outcomes and feedback.

Key Elements of School as a Social System

1. Structure - formal organizations such as schools have structures composed of
bureaucratic expectations and roles, hierarchy of offices and positions, rules and
regulations, and specializations.

Compiled by: Shara Joy P. Constantinopla, MALT (The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership R02-Module-2023)
 Prof Ed 312: The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership

2. Individual - A key unit in any social system; regardless of position, people bring
with them individual’s needs, beliefs, and a cognitive understanding of the job.
Cognition is the individual’s use of mental representations to understand the job
in terms of perception, knowledge, and expected behavior.
3. Culture - provides members Key Elements of School as a Social System with a
commitment to beliefs and values beyond themselves and when culture is
strong, so is their identification with the group and the influence of the group.
4. Politics - Informal power relations that develop spontaneously. Political
dimension spawns the informal power relations that emerge, often to resist
other system of legitimate control. It is legitimate because it is behavior usually
designed to benefit the individual or group at the expense of the organization.
5. Technical Core: Teaching and Learning - The teaching-learning process is the
technical core of schools. All other activities are secondary to the basic mission
of teaching and learning, which shapes the administrative decisions in schools.
Learning occurs when there is stable change in an individual’s knowledge or
behavior.
6. Environment - critical to the organizational functioning of schools. It is the
system’s source of energy. It provides resources, values, technology, demands,
and history.
7. Outcomes - The products of the organizations that is educated students.
Performance outcomes are indicators of goal accomplishment.
8. Feedback Loops: Internal and External - informs individuals how bureaucratic
structure and the informal organization view their behavior.

C. The School as a Community

Defining Schools as a Community

If schools are to be inclusive, every school should be central to its local

community. Managers and practitioners have a responsibility to understand that
their school has to become a community within a community. Members of the
school will be members of their local community reflecting its beliefs and values,
conveyed through the action, behaviour and attitudes of the pupils, teaching and
non-teaching staff, parents, governors and LEA.

Community can be defined as multidimensional within:

 location – where it is, the influence of the environment and systems of control
 structure – the administrative elements and guidance that determine equality of
provision
 process – the management of people and development of a shared
understanding of beliefs and values.

All members of the school, including those with special educational needs, as
participants in the school and local community, should be encouraged to have a
shared commitment to the creation of the school community. It is axiomatic that
schools need organisational structures, aims and guiding rules if they are to be

Compiled by: Shara Joy P. Constantinopla, MALT (The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership R02-Module-2023)
 Prof Ed 312: The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership

effective. As active players in the daily life of the school, pupils, teachers, parents,
governors and support agencies need to relate to each other, sharing an
understanding of the goals and targets that are to be achieved in an effective school.
The determination of these goals is:

 reflective, in that the school mirrors the local community, sharing key players
and their beliefs and values
 individual, as all members will have their own identity with their personal goals
and objectives
 collective, as shared understanding of common beliefs and values will create a
sense of community bound together by a recognizable identity and geographical
location.

Community

The principles on which community provision is built are based on certain

assumptions that relate to inclusive practice:

 education is part of social provision, strongly related to all other branches of

social provision; education does not exist just as an academic entity
 social provision is determined by the prevailing social and economic framework
of society
 throughout civilized history, the level of social provision has sustained societies
in an unequal manner, balancing those who ‘have’ with those who ‘have not’
 both social and educational provision have become more centrally controlled
 there has been a move towards devolution of power at an operational level,
reflecting the need to provide community-type activities led by the community
 there is a greater emphasis on participation that has contributed to the
emancipation of the teacher.

Within the context of community, it is necessary to consider how education

contributes to the life-long experience of its members, including those with special
educational needs. The home, local area and neighbourhood all contribute to the
educational experience of each pupil. As a consequence there are varying degrees of
good and bad influences on members of the school community. There is a need for
the education system to enter into dialogue with the local community and to
recognise its impact on the school. The management of SEN in schools should reflect
the factors that determine the nature and culture of the community. In sum:

 Special and cultural interaction: the school can exert its influence on the life and
minds of the people. Equally the neighbourhood, home and culture of the
people can influence the school. The totality of the experiences of all those
concerned in the educational process have an effect upon each other.
 Administration and control: the geographical and managerial system within the
social and cultural framework. The structure gives shape and form to the beliefs
and values of the community in its social and cultural being.

Compiled by: Shara Joy P. Constantinopla, MALT (The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership R02-Module-2023)
 Prof Ed 312: The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership

Critically, education in schools should be concerned with education within

and for communities, not of communities (Poster, 1982). Community education, as
with all education, begins with and for the individual. The role of the community
educator is not dissimilar to the traditional role of the teacher: to educate individuals
in order that they become autonomous and are able to participate in the community
in which they choose to live. The element of choice is important; some members of
the community may wish to remain in the same setting for much of their lives while
others may choose to experience other communities. Education should provide
individuals with the tools whereby they are able to make such choices.

School Culture

As schools function within a community there is a need to create an identity that

acknowledges and reflects where the community is and where it would like to be;
this is also applicable to pupils, parents, teachers and support agencies. Schools, like
other communities, have their own characteristics and personalities. An
understanding of the culture of schools is required before considering the
management of SEN. The culture of each school is determined by individual and
collective beliefs and values. Schools do not consist of homogeneous groups of
people with shared identities; schools are collections of individuals within a shared
culture. The vision for the school is contained in the school development plan and
policy statements that provide the rationale for practice. A school culture will
manifest itself in many forms:

 practice – rites, rituals and ceremonies

 communications – stories, legends, symbols and slogans
 physical forms – location, style and condition of the school buildings, fixtures
and fittings
 common language – phrases or jargon common to the school.

Ethos

Differences between schools may be explained in terms of organisational and

social structure which also reflect the interpersonal relationships that create the
ethos, the shared beliefs and values. The whole-school feeling exists to such an
extent that it drives the school as a community towards achieving goals. An
intangible relationship between community and ethos exists but the link is difficult
to define. Ethos is multidimensional, as no single definition would apply to the many
situations that occur in the life of the school community. Managers and practitioners
create school ethos through values and behaviours that reflect values portrayed in
policies and practice.
Analysis of school management and community is often directed at the
individual teacher, whose skills in managing young people are so consequential to
the life of the classroom (Hargreaves, 1984). The general ethos, climate or
philosophy of a school has its own powerful consequences. The teacher and the
pupil are interdependent; what is unclear is precisely how this interaction works.

Compiled by: Shara Joy P. Constantinopla, MALT (The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership R02-Module-2023)
 Prof Ed 312: The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership

Environment

There is a distinctive link between the atmosphere created in schools and their
environment. An uncared-for school building, regardless of age, will reflect an
uncaring community. Working in an environment that is in need of repair (as most
schools are) creates stress; working in an environment that is unhealthy is not
conducive to effective teaching and learning. Members of the school community
need encouragement in order to fulfil their potential; a stimulating environment will
produce stimulating results. Members of the school community need to consider
how to create a positive environment. This may include:

 good quality displays of pupils’ work and achievements covering full range of
ability
 bright, open spaces with carpeted floors and plants, pictures and photographs
 clean buildings: no litter, adequate bins that are emptied, working toilet facilities
 supervised areas for study
 adequate facilities for every subject, e.g. PE and music store areas.

The management of the school environment is the responsibility of everyone

in the school community. The development and maintenance of the environment
can be a key activity within the school and help with the inclusion of pupils with SEN.
Much can be made of any school building. Community is an essential concern of
schools; as such the development and maintenance of a sense of community is a
primary function.

D. School as a Learning Community

1. Community of Practice

What is a Community of Practice?

 A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a common
concern, a set of problems, or an interest in a topic and who come together to
fulfill both individual and group goals.
 Communities of practice often focus on sharing best practices and creating new
knowledge to advance a domain of professional practice. Interaction on an
ongoing basis is an important part of this.
 Many communities of practice rely on face-to-face meetings as well as web-
based collaborative environments to communicate, connect and conduct
community activities.

What is the Origin of the Term ‘Community Of Practice’?

While people have learned together through informal communities of
practice throughout history, the primary use of the concept originated in learning
theory. Cognitive anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger coined the term
“community of practice” when studying apprenticeships as a learning model—the
term referred to the community that acts as a living curriculum. Once the concept

Compiled by: Shara Joy P. Constantinopla, MALT (The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership R02-Module-2023)
 Prof Ed 312: The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership

was articulated the researchers started to see communities everywhere, even when
no formal apprenticeship system existed.

What are the Characteristics of a Community of Practice?

There are three characteristics of a community of practice:
1. Domain: Community members have a shared domain of interest, competence
and commitment that distinguishes them from others. This shared domain
creates common ground, inspires members to participate, guides their learning,
and gives meaning to their actions.
2. Community: Members pursue this interest through joint activities, discussions,
problem-solving opportunities, information sharing and relationship building.
The notion of a community creates the social fabric for enabling collective
learning. A strong community fosters interaction and encourages a willingness
to share ideas.
3. Practice: Community members are actual practitioners in this domain of interest,
and build a shared repertoire of resources and ideas that they take back to their
practice. While the domain provides the general area of interest for the
community, the practice is the specific focus around which the community
develops, shares and maintains its core of collective knowledge.

Types of Communities of Practice

Today, communities of practices are increasingly being used to improve
knowledge management and connect people within business, government, education,
and other organizations.
The design of the community will look different depending on the purpose and
needs of the participants. There are four basic types of communities:

1. Helping Communities - provide a forum for community members to help each

other with everyday work needs.
2. Best Practice Communities - develop and disseminate best practices, guidelines,
and strategies for their members’ use.
3. Knowledge Stewarding Communities - organize, manage, and steward a body of
knowledge from which community members can draw.
4. Innovation Communities - create breakthrough ideas, new knowledge, and new
practices.

2. School Learning Action Cells (SLAC): Professional Learning Communities

As stated in DepEd Order No. 35, s. 2016, Learning Action Cell (LAC) is a
session conducted by group of teachers who engage in collaborative learning
sessions to solve shared challenges encountered in the school facilitated by the
school head or a designated LAC Leader. LACs will become the school-based
communities of practice that are positive, caring, and safe spaces. DepEd envisions
that these LAC Sessions will serve as a school-based continuing professional
development strategy for the improvement of teaching and learning.

Compiled by: Shara Joy P. Constantinopla, MALT (The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership R02-Module-2023)
 Prof Ed 312: The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership

Compiled by: Shara Joy P. Constantinopla, MALT (The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership R02-Module-2023)