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Change in student performance takes place in the classroom
with the individual teacher. However, an effective teacher
that struggles in a vacuum, possibly without administrative
or collegial support, is limited in the impact and quality
he or she may have on the student’s performance. Conversely,
an exceptional school may fail its students without an equally
effective teacher. It is with a concerted effort, with administrative
leadership and with colleagues’ support, that the full
measure of teachers’ influence and skills may affect
student learning and knowledge acquisition. A school's environment
or culture, defined by the school’s sense of identity
and correlated with professional relationships amongst faculty
and staff, therefore plays a significant role. It serves to
provide teachers with the support, the commitment, the energy,
and the passion to reach continually for the discovery of
how to imbue knowledge to students.
Robert Marzano and his associates at McREL studied the impact
of the effectiveness of teachers and their schools on student
performance rankings (worksheet/handout—Effects
of Teachers on Student Performance). Their data not only
supports the need for effective teaching, but also underscores
the critical support provided by school leaders who know how
to initiate and support change that builds an effective school
culture. Their results are shown in the chart below.
Pam Robbins and Harvey Alvy, authors of The Principal's
Companion (2003), p. 27 state:
"Despite its pervasive nature, culture or inner reality
is often overlooked as a critical force... A school's culture
is reflective of its organizational members. The culture
is the "meaning" individuals create in their world
of work... This explains both why culture is such a critical
force and how individual interactions influence culture.
Because the way people interact daily or "do business"
at a site dramatically influences its ultimate productivity
for all members, culture is a powerful school improvement
tool".
The culture of a school may be readily seen through the relationships
faculty and staff have amongst themselves and with their administrative
leaders. Developing constructive relationships lays the foundation
for school improvement. That development consists of two processes:
- Building collegial relationships among all faculty and
staff members.
- Increasing the capacity for leadership in members of faculty
willing to lead the change process.
According to Fullan (1991), "Collegiality among teachers,
as measured by the frequency of communication, mutual support,
help, etc., was a strong indicator of implementation success.
Virtually every research study on the topic has found this
to be the case" (p. 132).
The activities in the following section will facilitate your
efforts to show immediate results in the creation of school
culture. Three critical steps in leading change for immediate
results are:
- Form a Leadership
Team
- Share Leadership:
Building Learning Teams
- Create a Vision
Next: 1. Form
a Leadership Team
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