The culture of a school should have a nurturing environment with great expectations so that the first thing teachers and students must feel when they walk into it every morning is learning and respect. The term school culture revolves around beliefs, observations, relationships, attitudes, and rules that shape and impacts each feature of how a school runs, however in broader terms it also includes safety of the students within the campus.
The concept of positive school culture is all about developing a caring and learning environment where educators feel excited, beginning every class with zeal by adopting a holistic approach and students sharing light and happy moments with their classmates at the assembly hall. Having a positive school culture has a powerful impact and can foster great learning experience. It all depends on the school leaders and administrators on what they do to promote a positive school culture. We have explored and put together 3 ways to do it successfully.
#1 Get rid of the toxicity
The onus is on the educational leaders and administrators to get rid of the toxic environment in schools that is hampering the learning and having a negative effect on its whole culture.
A toxic school culture has been described as a place where "staffs are extremely fragmented, where the purpose of serving students has been lost to the goal of serving the adults, where negative values and hopelessness reign." Under such circumstances, it is difficult to find the purpose of education and peaceful coexistence between the staff and students becomes a far-fetched dream.
A positive school culture is a place where hard work and good efforts pay dividends and are translated into positive experiences for both staff and students. Success, happiness, and achievements are the chief components of a positive school culture.
The educational leaders can identify whether the environment of the school is toxic or not by understanding its current culture, perceiving the attitude of the educators in the classroom and taking general opinion of the students about the school and the staff . An international diploma in educational leadership administration management would train and guide active educational leaders and administrators in the best possible way. The course will upgrade their skills, help them improve in their existing job and mold into global professionals.
#2 Get parents involved
A positive school culture can be generated through lucid and candid conversation with the parents or guardians of the students. They can play a vital role in preventing misunderstandings and eradicate feelings of hostility.
Asking them to provide their feedback can go a long way in helping the school leaders understand the culture of the institution. Their feedback and reviews on school activities and programs and concerns they have regarding the education of their children would be great to have. It is not only about parent-teacher meetings. Rather, organizing workshops between parents and teachers would be ideal for discussing homework and educational skills.
#3 Establish norms & rules that are conformed by everyone
The classroom rules and the dos and don'ts must be clear to the students from the beginning so that they adhere to them seriously. It is all depends on the strictness of the rules to be implemented and the consequences of violating them.
For instance, rather than prohibiting the use of chewing gum, water bottles, or electronic devices in the classroom, it should be a statement that summarizes the whole thing in few words like: "Show respect to the people around you."
School cultures may seem abstract but it has a powerful role to play in the success of the institution and preparing students for the future at a deeper level. An international diploma in educational leadership administration management course would surely help candidates to create better school culture that is drenched in positivity, happiness, joy, and success.
Laxmon Gope is a senior strategic leader. Besides writing this informative article on international diploma in educational leadership administration management, he has also penned for other topics. Prior to this, he worked as a strategic leader in a leading school.