CPE 102

Unit 2: Lesson 1 – The School as a Cultural Institution

Objectives:
 Explain school as a cultural institution
 Define school culture
Introduction:
School serves not just as a social change agent, but also as a cultural institution.
It serves as an open space where students from all cultural backgrounds can meet and
engage. This chapter will explain how schools develop into cultural institutions. In
addition, this module will assist students in gaining a better knowledge of School Culture
and its significance.

Activity:

Do you think diversity is a blessing or a curse? Give an explanation for your

response.

Abstraction:
School as a Cultural Institution
Cultural institutions are institutions whose main mission is to preserve, interpret,
and disseminate cultural, scientific, and environmental information, as well as to
encourage activities that enlighten and educate citizens about related areas of culture,
history, science, and the environment.
A school is an example of a cultural institution, for it is an ecological area where
cultures meet. This distinguishes it from other socializing institutions and gives it its
distinct identity and a degree of autonomy. Its primary task is the thoughtful mediation of
the many influences that different cultures have on new generations.
Cultural institutions are essential to the preservation, conservation, revitalization,
interpretation, and documentation of heritage, as well as citizens' interaction and
participation with it. As a result, cultural institutions play a significant role in promoting
cultural understanding, intercultural conversation, and cultural variety, as well as cultural
transmission across generations.
School Culture
The term "school culture" refers to the beliefs, perceptions, relationships, attitudes,
and written and unwritten rules that shape and influence every aspect of how a school
operates, but it also includes more concrete issues like student physical and emotional
safety, classroom and public space order, and the degree to which a school embraces
and celebrates racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity.
A school's culture, like the greater social culture, is shaped by both conscious and
unconscious ideas, values, relationships, and practices, and it is highly influenced by the
school's institutional history. Students, parents, teachers, administrators, and other staff
members all contribute to the culture of their school, as do other factors such as the
neighborhood in which it is located, the policies that govern how it runs, and the values
upon which it was formed.

* Read the additional reading materials posted on your Google Classroom.

Application:
Select one of your former schools. Describe the school culture of that particular school.

References:
Angel I. PÉrez GÓmez (1997) The school: a crossroad of cultures, Curriculum Studies, 5:3, 281-299, DOI:
10.1080/14681369700200013

Little, W., McGivern, R. (n.d.). Introduction to Sociology. Retrieved

https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontosociology/chapter/chapter16-education/

School Culture. (2013, November 25). The Glossary of Educational Reform. Retrieved
https://www.edglossary.org/school-
culture/#:~:text=The%20term%20school%20culture%20generally,of%20students%2C%20the%20orderli
ness%20of