Leading the Self-Managing School

Brian J. Caldwell, Jim M. Spinks

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2005
• eBook ISBN: 9781135387679
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This work is a sequel to The Self-Managing School and deals with leadership responsibilities on two levels - as head of a school responsible for loca management and as a director in a Local Education Authority responsible

Part B: Leadership in the Self-Managing School

4: Cultural Leadership: Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Excellence

Moving from near dependency under a centralised arrangement toward autonomy in a system of self-managing schools means a significant change in the way things are done at the school and central levels. This amounts to a change in culture at both levels.

Our purpose in this chapter is to highlight the major characteristics of a school’s culture and the role of the leader in creating and sustaining it, and to suggest some strategies for leaders in carrying out this task in a self-managing school. This purpose implies that the culture of a self-managing school differs in important ways from the culture which has sustained schools in the recent past. This may indeed be the case in many settings but no sweeping generalisations of this order are offered. Indeed, two observations should be made at the outset. First, it is unlikely that there will be any change to the core values and beliefs which determine the culture of an already excellent school. Second, any implication of change does not necessarily represent an adverse judgment on accomplishments in the past. On the contrary, the achievements of systems of government or public schools should be the subject of celebration. These achievements have been underpinned by a strong culture which is founded in values and beliefs which should surely be sustained.

Our first task is to provide a framework for describing and analysing the culture of a school. We will then identify what we believe are the characteristics of a culture of excellence in a self-managing school and of those other parts of a school system (centre, region, district) which provide direction and support to self-managing schools. Key concepts in the core of a culture of self-management are defined and some new patterns of leadership behaviour are outlined. The latter are concerned with marketing, efficiency and accountability. Marketing is selected for a detailed illustration of how the culture of a school can be changed in a manner which has educational integrity. We conclude the chapter with ten implications for leadership in the self-managing school.

Describing and Analysing the Culture of a School

Expressed simply, a school’s culture is ‘the way we do things around here’.¹ One does not search for and then find the culture of a school, one experiences it in ordinary day-to-day activities. In recent years much has been said and written about the topic, but school culture is not a new phenomenon. In many respects we are rediscovering the importance of culture as a factor in accounting for excellence in schools. When considering the leader’s role in creating and sustaining a culture, we are to some extent re-focusing on higher order acts of leadership after years of preoccupation with lower order, though nonetheless important, managerial activities.

The recent interest in school culture is, however, based on a rich array of research, and we are now able to describe and analyse the phenomenon using language and a degree of precision which was not readily available in the past. Above all, we can offer some guidelines for those who have the opportunity to exercise leadership.

The notion of culture as ‘the way we do things around here’ is, of course, just a starting point. We do things in our schools because we have particular values and beliefs about what ought to be done in our schools. These are the intangible foundations of culture. Then there are the tangible manifestations of culture: the words we use, the behaviours we engage in, and buildings and other facilities and artifacts we construct and gather. A more detailed specification of the tangible and intangible provides a framework for describing and analysing the culture of a school. The specification which follows is that proposed by Beare, Caldwell and Millikan and illustrated in Figure 4.1.²

The foundations of school culture are defined by answers to questions such as the following. What are the purposes of education? What is the role of the school in achieving these purposes? What knowledge, skills and attitudes are worthy of being addressed in the educational program of the school? What is the relationship between a school and its community; between a school and government? To what extent should the school cater for the needs of all of its students? How should a student learn? What behaviours and relationships are desirable among different members of the school community?

Values, philosophies and ideologies—as reflected in answers to questions such as these—are manifested in a variety of ways. In a verbal sense these include statements of aims and objectives, the curriculum, the language that is used in every day discourse, metaphors, organisational stories, organisational heroes and organisational structures. They are also manifested in behaviour: in rituals, ceremonies, approaches to teaching and learning, operational procedures, rules and regulations, rewards and sanctions, psychological and social supports, and parental and community interaction patterns. Manifestations in materiel include facilities and equipment, artefacts and memorabilia, crests and mottoes, and uniforms.

Figure 4.1. A Framework for Describing and Analysing the Culture of a School

Source: H.Beare, B.J.Caldwell and R.H.Millikan (1989) Creating an Excellent School, London, Routledge, p. 176.

We now have the means to describe, in a basic sense, the culture of a school. There are other considerations which may help us determine the strength of a school’s culture. Important here is the extent to which different individuals and groups share values and beliefs and are committed to seeing their manifestation in forms such as those listed. Also important is the degree of consistency between values and beliefs and their different manifestations. A strong culture is indicated by all in the school community sharing the same values and beliefs. There will be similar answers to questions such as those we posed earlier, and there will be consistency in the ways these values and beliefs are manifested in a verbal, behavioural or material sense. A weak culture is indicated by fragmentation of values and beliefs and inconsistency in their manifestation.

The strength of a school’s culture may be illustrated with reference to equity; that is, the belief that all students ought to receive an education which enables their full potential to be realised, taking account of particular individual circumstances. A strong culture which reflects this belief would see all members of the school community committed to this value, with verbal manifestation in aims and objectives which make clear that the educational needs of all will be addressed and which specify targets for achievement where possible and appropriate; a curriculum which shows the particular ways in which this will be done; the use of language which recognises all children rather than marginalising or excluding some; metaphors which focus attention on the value of equity; organisational stories which highlight the success of the school in meeting a particular challenge in the past; organisational heroes, including students who have, for example, been successful in overcoming some particular disadvantage, and teachers who have contributed in outstanding fashion along the way; and organisational structures and processes which ensure that needs can be identified, priorities set and resources allocated. Behavioural manifestations of strength include rituals and ceremonies which celebrate success in meeting the full range of educational needs; the adoption of appropriate approaches to teaching and learning; and the existence of rules, procedures, rewards, sanctions and support to achieve the desired ends. Manifestations of materiel include the design of buildings and the provision of equipment to cater for the needs of all, and the collection of memorabilia and artefacts which focus attention on past and continuing successes.

Given this framework, it is possible to appraise the culture of a school. The starting point is a specification of the values and beliefs which are intended to underpin all that happens, noting the extent to which these have the shared commitment of all in the school community. Then follows a description and analysis of the various manifestations of these beliefs and values, noting the extent to which there is inconsistency among them. An agenda for action is then set where there is evidence of fragmentation and inconsistency. Some guidelines for action along these lines are offered in another section following consideration of the particular characteristics of culture which are called for in a self-managing school.

A Culture of Excellence in a Self-Managing School

At the heart of a culture lie core assumptions, values and beliefs about things that are important in education and schooling. Most important, of course, will be those related to the very purpose for the school’s existence. We believe that this purpose is concerned with the achievement of excellence so the starting point in exploring the role of a leader in creating and sustaining a culture of excellence in a self-managing school is an examination of what is meant by excellence. What follows is, in many respects, the personal educational platform of the authors. There will, of course, be widely differing assumptions, values and beliefs as to what constitutes excellence. The point we make here is that these must be shared and clarified in the. school setting. What follows is offered as an illustration.

Values and beliefs

What are the core values and beliefs which underpin the culture of excellence in a self-managing school? Five are identified, with three concerned with ends and two concerned with the means to achieve those ends.

The key values which define ends are quality, effectiveness and equity. An excellent school offers a quality education, that is, it pursues goals of great worth. Which goals are of great worth will, of course, be a matter for resolution in each school and school system. Our view is that these goals should include those related to:

• the basics;
• the new basics, including a capacity for problem-solving, creativity, and the capacity for and love of life-long learning and re-learning;
• the arts, defined broadly to include music, drama, dance, song, story, poetry and more;
• spiritual development, also defined broadly, including fundamental considerations of purpose in life and our relationship to others and to our environment;
• personal development; and
• physical development.

In all of these, there is:

• connectedness, reflecting an holistic approach to curriculum design and delivery;
• coherence, in respect to a unifying set of core values; and
• continuity in the sense that the school is a ‘centre for communicating civilisation’.³

But while there is continuity, there is also responsiveness, locally and nationally: the particular configuration of goals to be addressed in a particular school at a particular time in relation to other places of learning, including the home, will be determined at the school level taking account of ‘the larger picture’. This capacity for responsiveness is, of course, one of the features of a self-managing school.

The second key value is effectiveness. An excellent school is an effective school; that is, goals of great worth are achieved. But an excellent school must be more than an effective school: there must also be equity; that is, goals of great worth are achieved by all, regardless of circumstance. For this we need a framework of policies at the national and state level to ensure that issues of equity are addressed throughout the nation.

These three key values—quality, effectiveness and equity—are concerned with outcomes or ends. There are two key values which are concerned with means—efficiency and empowerment. An excellent school places value on efficiency. Such a concern acknowledges that resources are limited, so there must be a capacity to set and re-set priorities, monitor what is accomplished, and make appropriate changes. Some people may be astonished that considerations of efficiency are associated with excellence, but it should be remembered that equity may be at risk if efficiency is ignored: every instance of wastefulness, duplication or unnecessary expenditure may mean that the educational needs of one or more students may not be met. A self-managing school has the capacity to be efficient in this positive sense.

An excellent school will place value on empowering its staff, students, parents and the wider community. Such empowerment calls for appropriate involvement in decision-making and decision implementation and the acquisition of knowledge and skill so that involvement will be fruitful.

These five values underpinning a culture of excellence may be incorporated in an ‘equation of values’, based on a formulation of Fantini:⁴ Self-management enhances a school’s capacity for responsiveness in addressing issues of quality, provides a framework for achieving efficiency in the allocation of resources, and specifies a role for the community in the decision process.

Tangible manifestation of values and beliefs

As noted in the first section of this chapter, a school’s culture is experienced in the tangible manifestation of values and beliefs in words, behaviours and materiel. A strong culture calls for a shared commitment among individuals and groups in the school’s community and a high degree of consistency among the different manifestations of culture.

Having defined the key values in a culture of excellence in a self-managing school—quality, effectiveness, equity, efficiency, empowerment— we turn now to the tangible ways in which these may be manifested. To do so in exhaustive fashion would be tedious and unnecessary. An illustration was provided at the outset of the tangible manifestations of equity. A further illustration may be offered for two facets of the values of quality and empowerment:

• in respect to quality, ‘…articular configuration of goals to be addressed in a particular school at a particular time in relation to other places of learning, including the home, will be determined at the school level’; and
• in respect to empowerment, ‘an excellent school will place value on empowering its staff, students, parents and the wider community. Such empowerment calls for appropriate involvement in decision-making and decision implementation and the acquisition of knowledge and skill so that involvement will be fruitful.’

Examples of the ways in which these values may be manifested include the following, with words in parenthesis referring to the various tangible manifestations of culture:

• a school council has been established, with powers which include the setting of goals, policies and priorities reflecting local needs and opportunities [organisational structures; parent and community interaction patterns];
• elections for school council and the occasion of the first meeting each year receive extensive publicity and are the subject of special celebrations [rituals, ceremonies];
• the aims, objectives, curriculum, policies and priorities of the school reflect the outcomes of decisions by school council and are made available in easily understood form to all with an interest in the program of the school [aims and objectives, curriculum, language];
• staff and parents are involved in professional development programs to ensure that knowledge and skill are acquired for successful involvement in decision making and in the instructional program of the school [psychological and social supports, teaching and learning];
• stories are told and written of outstanding contributions by individual parents and teachers, with buildings and other facilities or special awards named in their honour [organisational stories, organisational heroes, artefacts and memorabilia];
• a special room is set aside for meetings of school council, with appropriate displays of a functional and symbolic nature [facilities and equipment, artefacts];
• the principal establishes procedures to secure the wide involvement of staff in planning and resource allocation [operational procedures];
• the principal recommends a teacher for a senior appointment on the basis of outstanding leadership in fostering community involvement [rewards and sanctions]; and
• the metaphor of community shapes the structures and processes of the school [metaphor].

A Culture of Self-Management

The previous section dealt with what we called a culture of excellence. Except for the attention we gave to empowerment, the major features could be addressed in any school or system, regardless of the extent to which authority or responsibility had been decentralised. We now turn our attention to the questions: Is there a culture of self-management? What are the core assumptions, values and beliefs which underpin such a culture? How is such a culture manifested in a tangible sense? What role can a leader play in fostering a culture of self-management?

We believe that it is appropriate to refer to a culture of self-management. Expressed simply, ‘there is a way of doing things around here’ in a self-managing school and at the central level, in a system of self-managing schools, which is different from the way things are done in schools and schoo...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Preface
• Part A: A New Context and an Updated Model for Self-Management
• Part B: Leadership in the Self-Managing School
• Part C: Transforming Our Schools
• Notes