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TYPOLOGY OF SCHOOL
CULTURES
A Typology of School Cultures:
Improving Declining

Moving Cruising

Effective
Strolling

Ineffective
Struggling Sinking
TYPOLOGY OF SCHOOL
CULTURES
1.Moving:
• Boosting pupil’s progress and development
• Working together to respond to changing context
• Know where they are going and having the work
and skill to get there
• Possess norms of improving schools
TYPOLOGY OF SCHOOL
CULTURES
2.Cruising:
• Appear to be effective
• Usually in more affluent areas
• Pupils achieve in spite of teaching quality
• Not preparing pupils for changing world
• Posses powerful pupils that inhibit change
TYPOLOGY OF SCHOOL
CULTURES
3.Strolling:
• Neither particularly effective nor ineffective
• Moving at inadequate rate to cope with pace of
change
• Meandering into future to pupils’ detriment
• Ill-defined and sometimes conflicting aims inhibit
improvement
TYPOLOGY OF SCHOOL
CULTURES
4.Struggling:
• Ineffective and they know it
• Expend considerable energy to improve
• Unproductive ‘thrashing about’
• Will ultimately succeed because have the will if not
the skill
• Often identified as ‘failing’, which is
demotivational
TYPOLOGY OF SCHOOL
CULTURES
5.Sinking:
• Ineffective: norms of isolation, blame, self reliance,
and loss of faith powerfully inhibit improvement
• Staff unable to change
• Often in deprived areas where they blame parenting
or unprepared children
• Need dramatic action and significant support
SCHOOL MISSION, VISION
AND VALUES
Every school crafts their mission and vision
statements to draw the directions of the instution. The
mission and vision mirror what the school wishes and
hopes to eventually become and accomplish (Peterson &
Deals, 2009).
Even though these are called statements, they are
embodied by all of the values, beliefs, norms, and
assumptions that school holds (Confeld, 2016).
SCHOOL MISSION, VISION
AND VALUES
THE DEPED VISION:
We dream of Filipinos
who passionately love their country
and whose values and competencies
enable them to realize their full potential
and contribute meaningfully to building the nation.
As a learner-centered public institution,
the Department of Education
continuously improves itself
to better serve its stakeholders.
SCHOOL MISSION, VISION
AND VALUES
THE DEPED MISSION:
To protect and promote the right of every Filipino to quality,
equitable, culture-based, and complete basic education where:
Students learn in a child-friendly, gender-sensitive, safe, and
motivating environment.
Teachers facilitate learning and constantly nurture every learner.
Administrators and staff, as stewards of the institution, ensure
an enabling and supportive environment for effective learning to
happen.
Family, community, and other stakeholders are actively engaged
and share responsibility for developing life-long learners.
SCHOOL MISSION, VISION
AND VALUES
DEPED CORE VALUES:

Maka-Diyos
Maka-tao
Makakalikasan
Makabansa
SCHOOL MISSION, VISION
AND VALUES
THE GCFI MISSION:
Inspired to serve the community, Guinayangan College
Foundation Inc. will serve the under priviledge youth to
pursue tertiary quality education, enhance their
competitive ability by integrating cross functional-
multitasks competence to cope up with changing times.
SCHOOL MISSION, VISION
AND VALUES
THE GCFI VISION:
Institutionalizing the life and existence of the school
to provide a known antidote to the mainstream cause of
poverty. Providing affordable education, bridge the gap
of extreme disadvantage of determined students to
achieve a college diploma for a chance and opportunity
of a better future.
SCHOOL MISSION, VISION
AND VALUES
According to Ott (1989), values are the core of what the
school considers important. Values are the standards set for
what is good, what quality means, what defines excellence in
other words, what is valued.
Beliefs are understandings about the world around us. They
are consciously held, cognitive views about truth and reality.
In addition, beliefs are how we understand the world and
people around us while assumptions are a set of beliefs
perceptionss, and values that guide behavior.
SCHOOL MISSION, VISION
AND
NormsVALUES
are unspoken expectations and rules that staff and
students are supposed to follow based on the beliefs, values,
and assumptions of the school (Peterson & Deal, 2009).

Sarason (1996) shared that norms shape reactions to

internally or externally proposed or imposed improvements.
SCHOOL MISSION, VISION
AND
Stoll andVALUES
Fink (1996) determined ten cultural norms that
influence school improvement. Because norms are frequently
unspoken, catchphrases articulate their core messages. The ten
cultural norms of improving schools are:
1. Shared goals - “we know where we’re going”
2.Responsibility for success -“we must succeed”
3. Collegiality - “we’re working on this together”
4. Continuous improvement - “we can get better”
SCHOOL MISSION, VISION
AND VALUES
5. Lifelong learning - “learning is for everyone”
6. Risk taking - “we learn by trying something
new”
7. Support - “there’s always someone there to
help”
8. Mutual respect - “everyone has something
to offer”
9. Openness - “we can discuss our
differences”
10. Celebration and humor - “we feel good
about ourselves”
 SCHOOL RITUALS,
TRADITIONS,
AND
The small daily CEREMONIES
rituals of our lives provide time for
reflection, connection, and meaningful experience (Peterson
and Deal, 2009).
Joining rituals, celebrating traditions, and conducting
ceremonies are great opportunities to convene as one while
integrating the vision, mission, values and goals of the school.
(Confeld, 2016)
 SCHOOL RITUALS,
TRADITIONS,
AND
Peterson CEREMONIES
and Deal (2009) defined school rituals as
procedures or routines that later on become rituals such as
greeting the teacher as students encounter them along the
corridor, conducting flag ceremonies every morning and
observing the honoring gesture or “pagmamano” gesture.
Indeed, rituals help to transform common experience into
uncommon events.
 SCHOOL RITUALS,
TRADITIONS,
AND
School traditions CEREMONIES
are significant events that have a special
history and meaning and occur year in and year out.
Examples:
Conducting freshman orientation, holding recollection
activities to the graduating batch, and arranging school
camping.
 SCHOOL RITUALS,
TRADITIONS,
ANDtheyCEREMONIES
While ceremonies, need not be large communal events.
They are elaborated as culturally sanctioned events that
provide a welcome spiritual boost.
Examples:
Holding the annual graduation rites, joining some local
cultural activities and celebrating Christmas through
Christmas Parties
 SCHOOL HISTORY AND
A school’s mission,STORIES
vision, values, rituals, traditons, and
ceremonies are all elements of the culture that are current and
happening in the present. (Confeld, 2016)
Peterson and Deal (2009) shared that learning from past
mistakes and successes is vital to creating and maintaining a
positive school culture. Culture of the school is built up over
time as people work together, play together, fight together and
laugh together.
 SCHOOL ARTIFACTS,
ARCHITECTURE, AND
SYMBOLS
These are the key to create and sustain a positive school
culture. The artifacts and symbols are the tangible objects that
represent the intangible values and beliefs of the school
(Peterson & Deal, 2009). These have variety of possibilities
such as logos, mascots, banners, awards, flags, trophies and
the like. School administrators may serve as a walking
symbols as he or she send messages through words, actions
and body language.
 SCHOOL ARTIFACTS,
ARCHITECTURE, AND
SYMBOLS
Confeld (2016) claimed that physical environment and the
surrounding area are essential in infuencing how individuals
think and feel about what is valued.
Displaying student’s colorful artwork, awards and the
values of the school can be enough to support individuals in
feeling optimistic and happy about being at school (Peerson &
Deal, 2009).
LEVELS OF SCHOOL CULTURE
Starratt (1993) crafted a diagram that might help us imagine
the school as being comprised of layers resembling an onion.
• Operational Level(Outer layer): school life one
experiences on walking into a school building, seeing
children on their way to class, etc.
• Organizational Level : made up of all those organizing
structures of the school such as weekly schedule of
classes.
OPERATIONS ORGANIZATIONS
PROGRAMS

POLICIES

GOALS
BELIEFS
MYTH
ASSUMPTIONS
PURPOSES
POLICIES
PROGRAMS

ORGANIZATION
OPERATIONS
LEVELS OF SCHOOL CULTURE
• Program Level: made up of the programs of the school
includes various components of the academic program, as
well as the extracurricular programs.
• Policies Level : we find policies by which the school is
run.
• Purposes and Goals Level: we find the general goals of
the school, mission statement(Philosophy statement)
• Beliefs and Assumptions Level: school’s tacit educational
platform
LEVELS OF SCHOOL CULTURE
• Core Myth: sometimes flowing into layer of beliefs and
assumptions, are the myths and meanings by which
people make sense out of their lives, by which they define
value, by which human striving is to be judged, which
help to place oneself in a definable order of things.
 ASSESSING SCHOOL
CULTURE
The Culture Typology Survey allows individual to recognize
and rate the degree to which he or she observes and engages
in certain behaviors within the school environment. It is used
as instrument developed by Gruenert and Valentine (2015).

These are 12 Key Aspects of School Culture:

• Student Achievement
• Collegial Awareneness
• Shared Values
• Decision Making
 ASSESSING SCHOOL
• Risk Taking CULTURE
• Trust
• Openness
• Parent Relations
• Leadership
• Communication
• Socialization
• Organization History
 ASSESSING SCHOOL
Along with these areCULTURE
the 6 Types of School Cultures:
• Toxic
• Fragmented
• Balkanized
• Contrived- Collegial
• Comfortable- Collaborative
• Collaborative
 ACTIVITY:
Toxic or positive? Assess your school’s culture by checking
the right statement for your school.

___1. The school celebrates successes.

___2. The school blames students for lack of progress.
___3. The school emphasizes accomplishment and
collaboration.
___4. The school discourages collaboration.
___5. The school fosters commitment to staff and student
learning.
___6. The school breeds hostility among the staff.
TOXIC SCHOOL CULTURES
School culture is the underlying set of norms, values,
traditions, ceremonies, and unwritten rules of behavior, action
and thinking. The school culture is built over time as
educators cope with problems, deal with changing students
and staff and deal with success and failures.

The culture has developed dysfunctional values and beliefs,

negative traditions and caustic ways of interacting. These are
what Deal and Peterson (1998) called Toxic Cultures.
TOXIC SCHOOL CULTURES
Toxic school cultures lack a mission and vision, value laziness
and apathy, appreciate separateness and exclusivity, and have
negative peer relationships (Peterson, 2002).
According to Peterson (2002), school with negative or toxic
culture:
• Lack a clear sense of purpose.
• Have norms that reinforce inertia.
• Blame students for lack of progress
• Discourage collaboration.
• Often have actively hostile relations among staff.
 TOXIC SCHOOL CULTURES
Moreover, in toxic cultures, staff:
• View students as the problem rather than as their valued
clients
• Are sometimes parts of negative subcultures that are hostile
and critical of change
• Believe they are doing the best they can and do not search
out new ideas
• Frequently share stories and historical perspectives on the
school that are often negative, discouraging and
demoralizing
TOXIC SCHOOL CULTURES
• Complain, criticize, and distrust any new ideas, approaches
or suggestions for improvement raised by planning
committees
• Rarely share ideas, materials, or solutions to classroom
problems
• Have few ceremonies or school traditions that celebrate
what is good and hopeful about their place of work
 TOXIC SCHOOL CULTURES
How do schools deal with “toxicity” in their cultures? (Deal and
Peterson, 1999)
• Confront negativity and hostility head-on and work to
redirect negative energies
• Protect emergent sources of positive focus and effort
• Actively recruit more positive and constructive staff
• Vigorously celebrate the positive and the improving sides of
the school
TOXIC SCHOOL CULTURES
• Ensure that improvement efforts and plans are successful by
supporting with time, energy and resources
• Reconnect staff to the mission of schools: To help all
children learn and grow
 CREATING A POSITIVE
SCHOOL
Elements of Positive Culture: CULTURE
• Collegiality - The school atmosphere is friendly. You work in
an atmosphere where responsibility and authority are shared
by everyone.
• Experimentation - The atmosphere encourages
experimentation and so will will welcome mistakes as part of
the learning process.
• High Expectations - It has beeb said one’s level of
achievement is always lower than one’s level that aspiration.
 CREATING A POSITIVE
SCHOOL
• Trust and CULTURE
confidence - Students, teachers, school heads and
parents relate well and work well when relationships are
solidly built on trust and confidence.
• Tangible support - Everyone in the school community gets
concrete support for the good that they do.
• Reaching out to the knowledge base - Teachers care to grow
professionally to update themselves on the content
knowledge and pedagogy, the first domain in the Philippine
Professional Standards for Teachers.
 CREATING A POSITIVE
SCHOOL
• Appreciation CULTURE
and recognition - Certainly words of
appreciation and recognition make classroom climate highly
favorable.
• Caring, celebration, humor - Kids don’t care what you know
until they know that you care.
• Involvement in decision making - Involving others who are
concerned with decisions to be made enhances sense of
ownership.
• Protection of what is important - What schools consider
important must form part of their tradition and so must be
protected by all means.
 CREATING A POSITIVE
SCHOOL
• Traditions - A school mustCULTURE
have an intentional culture-based
program on shared values, beliefs and behaviors.
• Honest and open communication - No one gets ostracized for
speaking up his mind. The atmosphere is such that everyone
is encouraged to speak his mind without fear of being
ostracized.
SHARED NORMS: TEACHER AND
STUDENT NORMS
Shared norms for both teachers and students contribute to a
positive school culture. Boss and Larmer (2018) share teacher
norm and student norms to contribute to a fair and an engaging
learning environment, a characteristic of a positive school culture
SHARED NORMS: TEACHER AND
STUDENT
TEACHER NORMS
NORMS
1. Teach in different ways.
2. Call students by their names.
3. Care about students’ feelings.
a. Understand their situation
4. Have a good attitude.
b. Stay calm.
c. Use kind words.
d. C. Have patience.
e. Greet students and say good-bye.
SHARED NORMS: TEACHER AND
STUDENT
TEACHER NORMS
NORMS
5. Help students understand.
a. Work at a reasonable pace.
b. Explain clearly
c. Support different learning styles
d. Expect the best.
e. Re-explain if necessary
6. Attend school the majority of the time.
SHARED NORMS: TEACHER AND
STUDENT
TEACHER NORMS
NORMS
7. Be respectful.
a. Give everyone what they need.
b. Use proper language.
c. Allow space if needed.
d. Use supportive words when explaining.
e. Call by your name.
6. Have a growth mindset
SHARED NORMS: TEACHER AND
STUDENT
STUDENT NORMS
NORMS
1. Have a growth mindset.
a. Believe you can improve.
b. Fail forward.
c. Keep trying.
d. Speak positively about your abilities to learn
2. Call classmates by their names.
SHARED NORMS: TEACHER AND
STUDENT
STUDENT NORMS
NORMS
3. Be responsible for your work.
a. Have materials ready.
b. Advocate for yourself.
c. Be a professional.
d. Meet deadlines
e. Participate.
f. Be on time to class.
SHARED NORMS: TEACHER AND
STUDENT
STUDENT NORMS
NORMS
4. Listen…
a. To the teacher
b. To your classmates
c. To guests
d. To the directions
5. Attend school the majority of the time
SHARED NORMS: TEACHER AND
STUDENT
STUDENT NORMS
NORMS
6. Be good team player.
a. Provide good, helpful feedback
b. Stay calm.
c. Encourage others
d. Stay on topic.
e. Be considerate.
f. Use proper language.
g. Communicate clearly to students and teacher(s).