Leadership for School Cultural Change that Impacts Student Achievement
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Authors
Work, Brian
Issue Date
2022-09
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
school culture , change management theory , distributed leadership , educational leader , professional development , professional learning communities
Alternative Title
Abstract
Student learning and achievement are the goals of educational institutions. Within the educational context, teachers have a significant impact on student learning. The culture of a particular school will socialize teachers into behaving according to the norms of that culture. If the culture features ineffective instructional strategies, the students will have poorer outcomes. School culture impacts all involved stakeholders. Educational leaders need to understand the power of culture, and how to shape that culture in a positive manner. Culture resists change; top-down approaches generally will not work to change culture (Fullan, 2015). What is necessary to bring about change is an understanding of change management theory as it relates to the educational setting. Educational leaders need to be adept at bringing change to their organization, meaning they have to understand the forces of change at work in schools. Leaders will need to be resolute as they build trust and relationships as part of a culture around collaboration and distributed leadership. There is a need for cultural change in schools. Teachers often work in isolation, which allows ineffective practices to continue. When the culture changes, the impacts are on the students and their achievement. Changing a culture is not an easy task, nor is there any magic bullet. However, it is vital work. The principal has the chance to have as much impact on the students as the individual teacher. If the leader can create a positive culture, that culture will socialize teachers in effective teaching methods, which in turn will have an impact on the entire school.
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Citation
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License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
openAccess
openAccess