Cultivate a healthy school culture to support teachers
School culture conversations are occurring worldwide as schools and systems seek new solutions to support teachers in their efforts to improve the quality of instruction, so all students achieve success.
By Philip D. Lanoue, Ph.D.
The growing focus on school culture to support instructional practice and the work of teachers to improve schools is a departure from the hard-nosed, data-driven era of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), in which student test data were at the center for improving student achievement. The power of a positive school culture is now being recognized as an emerging focus due to its significant effect on student achievement (Bektaş, Karadağ, AY & Çoğaltay, 2015).
This paper explores the need for schools and school districts to shift their focus toward culture as the bedrock for school reform and improvement efforts.