Changing School Culture
Week 1 - Overview
Note: The online classroom is designed to time students out after 90 minutes of inactivity. Because of this, we strongly suggest that you compose your work in a word processing program and copy and paste it into the discussion post when you are ready to submit it.
Learning Outcomes
This week students will:
Detect the makeup of a school culture.
Develop strategies to prepare leaders to create safe schools and functional school culture.
Introduction
Welcome to the first week of EDU688 – Organizational Management for Student Learning! In this course, you will adopt the perspective of a school or district administrator as you complete the coursework and engage in discussions each week. You will have various opportunities to solve problems as an administrator which will provide the support needed to create the Final Project in Week Six: A campus budget plan proposal.
Our course has also been designed around the following five main enduring understandings that relate to the focus of the course:
having a school culture that is functional and safe;
having an effective recruitment, hiring, and training system that ensures the employment of effective teachers and staff;
having assessment and monitoring systems that promotes student learning;
having technology and digital systems that can produce the data needed to keep the school functioning; and
having the financial impact of programs that are budgeted for that lead to an effective school that meets the needs of students (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. EDU688 Enduring Understandings
Throughout the six weeks of the course, these enduring understandings will provide a framework for the step-by-step process that will lead to the completion of the Campus Budget Plan Proposal, which is the Final Project for this course. During this first week, we begin by investigating the first enduring understanding - school culture and school safety. It is recommended that you take a moment now to review each week in the course, including the other introductions to weeks and their assessments, to get acquainted with the scope and flow of our learning these next six weeks and be aware of the variety of assessments you will complete while achieving the course outcomes and objectives.
Additionally, take some time to review each week’s Instructor Guidance. In these sections you will find useful information that will guide you as you progress through the week’s posted resources and assignments. There are also resources and videos posted in the guidance section that address the essential questions that are fundamental to each week of the course. Keep in mind that the primary purpose for this course in your program is to help you to understand how to create goals and an outline for a campus budget plan proposal that encompasses providing for a positive school climate in which students from all subgroups are successful learners.
Finally, this course provides you with many opportunities to utilize technology (Prezi, VoiceThread, Present.me, YouTube, ConceptMap, or PowerPoint) to accomplish discussion posts or assignments. Remember, it takes a “village” of collaborative members to promote effective and positive change within an organization; however, foremost it takes a committed leader to get the change moving.
Required Resources
Required Text
Sorenson, R. D., & Goldsmith, L. M. (2013). The principal’s guide to school budgeting, (2nd edition).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.For Week One, read pages 60-63.
Articles
Heathfield, S. M. (n.d.). How to change your culture: Organizational culture change. Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/organizationalculture/a/culture_change.htm
This article provides strategies as to how to change an organizational culture.
Heathfield, S. M. (2010). How to understand your current culture: Artifacts and interactions display your existing culture. Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/organizationalculture/a/culture_create.htm
In this article, Heathfield helps educators look at the culture that exists in their organization, including artifacts and interactions that display the existing culture.
Recommended Resources
Articles
Schein, E. H. (1993). Organizational culture & leadership. Retrieved from http://www.tnellen.com/ted/tc/schein.html
The author of this article defines organizational culture and, discusses the dimensions of culture and how to manage internal integration of culture, and how leaders embed and transmit culture.
Websites
Present.me. (https://present.me/content/need-convincing/)
This web-based software allows you to add a video or audio explanation to your document or presentation.
VoiceThread. (http://voicethread.com/)
This web-based software provides a means to enliven presentations with narrated audio comments.
YouTube. (http://www.youtube.com)
This is a video-sharing website.
Post Your Introduction
To post your introduction, go to this week's Post Your Introduction link in the left navigation.
This discussion is an opportunity to develop a community with your class peers and your instructor. Though you may already have some acquaintance with fellow learners from prior courses, this is your opportunity to strengthen connections and develop a community with the instructor for promoting deeper conversations and learning throughout our course. The use of technology is an integral part of your learning and teaching. Therefore, in this introduction you have two technology options for presenting your initial post.
Select one of the options listed below.
Option 1: Create a presentation using the software of your choice such as PowerPoint, YouTube, or VoiceThread. Include slides, video, audio, documents, or photos as part of your introduction.
Option 2: Create a short video to introduce yourself using the software of your choice such as VoiceThread or YouTube.
In your initial post-
Share who you are and your personal interests, including your professional background and experience, especially any dealing with education, and your personal interests.
Identify one leader and describe his or her leadership style. Your chosen leader can also be someone you know or someone who has been influential in education, such as Horace Mann, John Dewey, Booker T. Washington, or W. E. B. Dubois. Then, explain why you would like to emulate this person’s leadership style and provide specific examples of how you plan to emulate this leader’s style in your current or a future work setting.
Share one quote and its author, if known, that symbolizes your belief about leadership. Explain why this quote appeals to you and how it informs your decisions about your leadership style.
Describe the type of position you hope to have in the future and/or as a result of your graduate education. What impact do you believe having your master’s degree will have on your future endeavors as a leader?
Guided Response - Post replies to at least three peers. In your replies, consider asking questions of your peers about their responses to encourage further conversation. Though three replies is the basic expectation in this discussion, for deeper engagement and community building with peers, you are encouraged to provide responses to any comments or questions others have posted for you (including the instructor) before the last day of the learning week. This continued interaction will further the conversations and provide you with opportunities to network and get to know your instructor and peers for more optimal engagement in the coming weeks!
Discussions
To participate in the following discussions, go to this week's Discussion link in the left navigation.
Detect Components of School Culture
The following quote by Sorenson and Goldman (2013) reveals the components of a functional school culture (collegial spirit, shared values, beliefs, and traditions) and the best way (through enthusiasm, energy, and motivation) to have a school where all students succeed as learners: “The integrated budget model requires a school culture receptive to collaboration. Schools, which possess a collegial spirit, shared values, beliefs, and traditions are more apt to spawn the required collaborative environment that in turn increases enthusiasm, energy, and motivation.”
To prepare for this discussion you will read the “Culture, Data, and Celebrating Success” section of Chapter 3 of the required text by Sorenson and Goldman (2013), the Healthfield (2011, 2010) articles, and the Schein (1993) article. These authors discuss how to understand and change school culture. When you understand the culture of your school, you can make sure that it is sufficient to successfully provide optimum learning for all the subgroups of students in the school.
Initial Post - In your initial response construct at least one succinct yet descriptive paragraph for each point listed below.Discuss what school culture is and identify what the typical components of a functional school culture are using Sorenson and Goldman (2013, pp. 60-63) and the Healthfield (2010) article as resources to support your discussion.
Describe strategies that can be used to facilitate a school meeting the components of a functional school culture.
Explain how knowing what the components are of the school culture can inform your ability to detect the makeup of a school culture and select strategies for implementing a functional school culture.
Guided Response - Respond to at least two peers. In your replies, consider asking questions of your peers about their responses to encourage further conversation. Consider selecting a peer whose school culture differs from your own and one that is similar. Provide feedback regarding your peers’ reasons for the value of knowing one’s school culture. Though two replies is the basic expectation, for deeper engagement and learning, you are encouraged to provide responses to any comments or questions others have given to you (including the instructor) before the last day of the learning week. This will further the conversation and provide you with opportunities to demonstrate your content expertise, critical thinking, and real-world experiences with this topic.
Determine Functionality of School Culture
Functionality refers to whether the culture of an organization aids in meeting the mission of the organization as well as serves in promoting an environment of respect between members of the organization and in accomplishing successful learning for all subgroups of the students.
Initial Post - Determine the functionality of your school by holding an informal discussion with at least three employees, preferably a school leader, a teacher, and a para-educator. Discussions can be conducted through face-to-face, email correspondence, or telephone conversation. If you are not currently employed in a school setting but you know people who are, you may use them as contacts. Use the questions below to determine the functionality of your school. Be sure to include the positions and first names only of the person with whom you had your conversation with.
What would you tell a friend about your school if he or she was about to start working there?
What is the one thing you would most like to change about this school?
How are decisions made at this school?
What is your favorite characteristic that is present in your school?
What does it take for the adult professional to be successful in your school?
What is your favorite question to ask a candidate for a leadership position in your school?
Based on the results of your discussions, identify and share in detail how functional your school is. The traits you identify as needing to be changed will be considered the dysfunctional traits.
*If you do not have direct access to a school, or do not know anyone who does and could support you in these conversations, there are several options for completing this discussion. Please communicate proactively with your instructor to discuss these options prior to the due date.*
Guided Response - Respond to at least two peers. In your replies, consider asking questions of your peers about their responses to encourage further conversation. Consider selecting a peer whose school culture differs from your own and one that is similar. Provide feedback regarding your peers’ reasons for the value of knowing one’s school culture. Though two replies is the basic expectation, for deeper engagement and learning, you are encouraged to provide responses to any comments or questions others have given to you (including the instructor) before the last day of the learning week. This will further the conversation and provide you with opportunities to demonstrate your content expertise, critical thinking, and real-world experiences with this topic.
Assignment
To complete the following assignment, go to this week's Assignment link in the left navigation.
Changing School Culture
Construct your assignment to meet the content and written communication expectations below.
Content Expectations
Dysfunctional School Culture Traits: Analyze the dysfunctional traits of your school. These are the ones that need to change. Use Healthfield (2011, 2010) and Schein (1993) as resources to support your analysis.
Dysfunctional School Culture Explanation: Explain the potential harm done to the school’s effort to ensure that all students succeed as learners as a result of the dysfunctional school culture traits. Use Healthfield (2011, 2010) and Schein (1993) as resources to support your explanation.
Develop Strategies for Changing School Culture: Develop at least three strategies for improving the previously identified dysfunctional traits.
Rationale for Changes to School Culture: Explain the rationale for the changes you would like to make drawing on Healthfield (2011, 2010) and Schein (1993) for support for the strategies you develop.
New School Culture: State your school’s mission and vision and explain how the changes made in the school culture will better serve the mission and vision of the school. Use Healthfield (2011, 2010) and Schein (1993) as support for your explanation.
School Success: Evaluate the extent to which the new school culture is able to ensure that all subgroups of the students are successful learners. Use Healthfield (2011, 2010) and Schein (1993) as support for your evaluation.
Written Communication Expectations
Page Requirement: Your paper must be two to three pages in length, not including title and references pages.
APA Formatting: Use APA formatting consistently throughout the paper. It is recommended you use the content area labels as headings for each section of your content for the paper. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit The Ashford Writing Center.
Syntax and Mechanics: Display meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Your written work should contain no errors and be very easy to understand.
Source Requirement: Use at least three scholarly sources in addition to the course textbook, providing compelling evidence to support ideas. All sources on the reference page need to be used and cited using APA standards within the body of the assignment.
Next Steps: Review and Submit the Assignment
Review your assignment with the Grading Rubric to be sure you have achieved the distinguished levels of performance for each criterion. Next, submit the assignment for evaluation no later than Day 7.
