Using School Culture To Bring Vision to Life / Christine Finnan and Henry M. Levin.

The concept and the features of school culture at the local, school-building level and the culture of schooling as a societal construct are explored. The text discusses the components of school culture that must be examined for a school to reach its vision. It focuses on how the Accelerated Schools Project (ASP) philosophy and process facilitate this school-culture change. The culture of schooling is conservative and resistant to change because it exists primarily at an abstract, generalized level. This culture of schooling creates and perpetuates images that people call forth when they think of education, schools, and schooling. Conversely, the culture of individual schools is more amenable to change and must accommodate a continuous influx of new people. Five critical components shape a school's culture: expectations for children; children's expectations for their own school experience; expectations for adults; beliefs and assumptions about acceptable educational practices; and desirability of change. This paper asserts that schools employing the ASP philosophy must change the assumptions in these five components and be dedicated to their desire for change. (RJM)

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