ANTHONY
MUHAMMAD, PH.D.
Transforming School
Culture:
The Task at Hand
“If schools are to be transformed into learning
communities, educators must be prepared
first of all to acknowledge that the traditional
guiding model of education is no longer
relevant in a post-industrial, knowledge-based
society. Second, they must embrace ideas and
assumptions that are radically different than
those that have guided schools in the past.”
Two Forms of Change
Technical
Technical Change
Technical changes are changes in learning
tools/structure
1.
Collaborative time
2.
Common assessments
3.
Norms and Protocol
4.
Educational technology
Common Misconceptions
About Technical Changes
Changing the structure will lead to
higher levels of productivity
(Rearranging the seats on the Titanic)
Technical changes can make up for
low capacity or unprofessionalism
Technical changes will “fix” kids or
Cultural Change
“Structural change that is not
supported by cultural change will
eventually be overwhelmed by the
culture, for it is in the culture that any
organization finds meaning and
stability.”
Schlechty, Shaking Up the Schoolhouse: How to Support and Sustain Educational Innovation
School Culture
“School culture is the set of
norms, values, and beliefs,
rituals and ceremonies, symbols
and stories that make up the
‘persona’ of the school”
“Healthy” School Culture
“Educators have an unwavering belief in
the ability of all of their students to
achieve success, and they pass that belief
on to others in overt and covert ways.
Educators create policies and procedures
and adopt practices that support their
belief in the ability of every student.”
“Toxic” School Culture
“Educators believe that student success is based upon students’ level of concern, attentiveness,
prior knowledge, and willingness to comply with the demands of the school, and they
articulate that belief in overt and covert ways. Educators create policies and procedures and adopt practices that support their belief in the
impossibility of universal achievement.”
Good to Great
, Jim Collins
What do great corporations/organizations do
differently than good/average organizations?
1.
They seek and find the “brutal
facts”
2.
They get the right people on the
Believers
Objective:
The Believers
Very intrinsically motivated
Flexibility with students (academically and
behaviorally)
Mission driven/connection to school or
community
Willing to confront negative talk and
attitudes towards children
Tweeners
Objective:
The Tweeners
Loosely-coupled with the school mission Enthusiastic about the idealistic nature of
school, but have not quite hit the tipping point
They stay out of school and district politics Follows instructions as given by
administration (considered “good” teachers)
One extreme experience (Moment of Truth)
Survivors
Objective:
Survivors
Overwhelming nature of the job or life has
caused clinical depression (Burnout)
No political or organizational aspirations
Create subcontracts with student to broker a
“cease-fire” agreement
Little to no professional practice is evident
All members of the organization agree that
they do not belong in the profession
Removal and treatment is the only possible
Fundamentalists
Objective:
Apprenticeship of Observation
Educators have been socialized in their field
since childhood and adopt the norms
The average educator was a good student
Educators subconsciously protect a system
that was of personal benefit
Educators implement practices that protect
the system (academic obstacle course)
Fundamentalists
Believe not all children can learn (Social
Darwinists)
Believe that school reform is a waste of time
Believe in autonomy and academic freedom
Organize to resist threat(s) to status quo
Believe that gaps in learning are solely due
to outside forces (students, parents,
administration)
Methods:
The Three “D’s”
Defamation
Disruption
Believers
Believers FundamentalistsFundamentalists
Focus on problem
and problem solving
Pragmatic
discussions stay
within the locus of
control
Focus on personal
affect of the problem and constant,
emotionally-charged description of the problem
Emotional discussions
lie outside of the locus of control
Believers
Believers
Fundamentalists
Fundamentalists
Goal: Success for Every
Student
Accepts that change
(the right change) is necessary to improve student performance
Student interest is
more important that personal interest
(Public Servant)
Goal: Maintain Status
Quo
Rejects any
substantive change if it clashes with personal agenda
Self-interest is more
important than student interest (Self Servant)
The Current State of School Reform
The Clash
The Problem of Our Time?
“Money alone will not fix our
struggling schools. The issue
of adult dysfunction, at every
level, must be addressed and
fixed before we can truly have a
new American public school.”
A Call to Action
“Education is too critical to our society for
leaders to allow it to be hijacked by a
group of individuals who refuse to
embrace substantive change, even in the
face of compelling evidence. School
leaders and Believers have to become
more active and vocal and meet this
challenge of overcoming fundamentalism
head on.”
What’s Next? Is Change Necessary?
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and
over and expecting a different result?” –
Fundamentalist
Change Is Not Easy
“Drop Your Tools” Research
People persist when they are given no
clear reason to change
People persist when they do not trust the
person who tells them to change
People persist when they view the
alternative as more frightening
To change may mean admitting failure
How do we respond?
•
Level 1
– Make a clear case
for change
•
Level 2
– Develop
relationships, do not ostracize
•
Level 3
– Increase capacity
and consider the context
Behavior not People!
If you answered yes to any of the
aforementioned questions, you have behaved
in a Fundamentalist manner in the past.
The focus in transforming culture is on
changing behavior, not getting rid of people.
Creating Healthy Cultures:
Everyone Has a Role
Micro (Colleagues)
Micro (Colleagues)
Control the language
of the informal culture
Remove emotional
tone from informal interactions
Focus peers on
mission and problem solving
Macro (Leadership)
Macro (Leadership)
Develop and maintain
healthy
organizational vision
Develop and maintain
healthy policies, practices, and procedures
Institutionalize
Hard Fact #1
Schools are institutions
created for the purpose
of educating children, not
Hard Fact #2
Educators are
Public
Servants
, no different
Hard Fact #3
If schools are going to improve,
the issue of Fundamentalism
and inordinate self-interest is
going to have to be effectively
Purpose
“The best case for public
education has always been that
it is a common good. Everyone
ultimately has a stake in the
caliber of schools, and education
is everyone’s business.”
Let Us Not Forget!
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government”
