Examine the role of the principal in shaping school culture and discuss the extent to which school culture determines school effectiveness.

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PRINCIPAL AND SCHOOLS’ CULTURE AS IT RELATES TO SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS                                                                                                                                

Assignment

Examine the role of the principal in shaping school culture and discuss the extent to which school culture determines school effectiveness.

‘Tasks of principals are multifaceted and complex” 

                                                        (Anderson, 2008)

 The role of the principal is important for schools to operate effectively and efficiently. In today’s society the role of the principal ranges from the simple to the complex. The Principal is not only a leader, but should be able to take up different roles in the school environment. The various roles encompass dealing with both the teaching staff and students.  Principals have to help students integrate with society, help the school as an institution to merge with other institutions such as the family, and to further help develop better students/individuals/citizens through the association with Parent Teachers Associations (Anderson, 2008). The principal therefore needs to shape a school culture that would assist him or her to accomplish the tasks needed to create an effective school.

Generally, defined culture is “a way of life,” or “the way we do things around here” (Barth, 2007). However, when one takes a look at organizations Robbin & Judge (2011), define culture as a system of shared meaning held by members, which distinguishes the organization from other organizations.” A school’s culture is the ‘complex pattern of norms, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, values, ceremonies, traditions, and myths that are deeply ingrained in the very core of the organization’ (Barth as cited in Fullan 2007). Lunenburg & Ornstein (2008) also continues and defines culture as “shared philosophies, ideologies, beliefs, feelings, assumptions, expectations, attitudes, norms and values (p.69)” It incorporates rituals and symbols that schools identify with and is more concerned with the social rather than the technical aspect of schools. Consequently, the principal as the leader of the school has several roles to perform in order to shape the school’s culture and needs to ensure that his or her staff are ‘on board’ to ensure that the culture is supported, maintained and transmitted (Sahin, 2011). The culture can be viewed as a system of shared purpose that hold a unit together and gives it a unique identity which can be either positive or negative (DuPont, 2009). Every school has a culture and it is such cultures, which determines schools’ effectiveness. Different individuals can contribute to the culture of the school however, Alkire (1995) suggests that the principal is in the key position to shape the schools’ culture.

The definition for culture varies but the elements of cultures are often times viewed as similar. These elements include clear vision and strong core values, rituals and ceremonies, histories and stories (Philosophies), norms and rules, and physical environment (Alkire, 1995; Peterson, and Deal, 1998; Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2008;DuPont, 2009). The principal has to have a clear vision of what type of  school’s culture he or she wants to promote. The principal cannot create a school culture by himself ,therefore, he or she must communicate the vision to the staff (foot soldiers) who would assist in promoting a positive culture (Anderson, 2008). A school’s culture is developed as a result of the interaction between members of the school. In the process of interaction, members exemplify certain behaviours, use certain language, terminology, and participate in certain rituals and ceremonies that come to be regarded as the ‘way we do things around here’ behaviour of the particular school (Alkire, 1995).  Moreover, as the standards of behaviour becomes established through the school heros, rites and rituals and communication networks, the ‘culture’ of the institution is formed.

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There are institutions which have strong culture and some where there is weak or toxic cultures. Peterson and Deal (1998) characterises schools with a toxic culture as having staff who are fragmented and where negative values are dominant. On the other hand schools with a strong positive culture are characterised by  staff who share a sense of purpose and high expectations of students. Principals must ensure that their school has a strong culture because a school’s culture to a large extent determines it’s effectiveness. There are several roles that the principal can perform to shape the school’s culture. These include ...

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