Game Changers | Learn | The Culture in Future Schools

Schools around the world are increasingly developing a much sharper understanding of why culture matters, and as leaders, we must drive that process. The renowned management expert, Peter Drucker, was supposed to have said once that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” While Drucker never actually confirmed whether he did in fact say this as part of a private conversation, what we can glean from the intent was that any rusted-on culture will destroy the impact of any strategy, unless alignment of vision, intent, and means are achieved. In other words, without good culture, there’s little point emphasising strategy. They must work hand in hand.

the-culture-in-future-schools-large

So what is the proper culture of a future school? And how can we achieve this type of alignment? Decision-making practice evaluative standards can reveal to us much about the underlying structure of school culture

Let’s start by thinking about the norms of decision-making in such a school – how people habitually make decisions can tell us much about the culture. The qualities of such a process tell us whether the normal life of a school is genuinely representative of the growth-minded change culture that typifies future schools. From what we see in our work with hundreds of schools internationally, there are typically five qualities that can be identified in how future schools go about working out what to do:

Future-focused: are decisions emerging from an inclination to move forward to meet the needs of the future?
Character-rich: are decision-makers considering the ways in which any and all decisions both model and promote the desired 21C character and competency for students and other members of the school community?
Action-oriented: are stakeholders committed to taking both the initiative to act and ensuring concrete actions to improving outcomes (especially student outcomes)?
Inclusive and empowering: do decision-makers look to make decisions in the best interest of the voice, agency, and wellbeing of “every” and “each” stakeholder and particularly the students – in other words, is there an emphasis on generating successful experiences and outcomes for individuals on personalised pathways as well as serving the needs and culture of the institution as a whole?
Reflective inquiry: do decision-makers habitually ask searching and meaningful questions while moving through one of a number of well-rehearsed and considered multi-stage process that ask them to contemplate context, balance the best of external research with internal evidence of impact, generate a range of options, and select the best available course of action to achieve the task at hand?

Schools around the world are increasingly developing a much sharper understanding of why culture matters, and as leaders, we must drive that process.

Perhaps it all comes down to a disposition to ask questions that challenge the status quo. So what are the right questions to ask of culture?

CIRCLE's ongoing research project into the character of excellent schools with the Association of Boys’ Schools of New Zealand over recent years can also provide us with insight into the right questions to ask about culture.

School character, climate and culture: The whole work of schools in developing competency in civic, performance, and moral character.

Educational purpose: Do schools aim to equip all students with the knowledge, skills, character, and learning habits they will need for success in their next educational endeavours and beyond?
Shared language: Do members of school communities share vocabularies that strengthen the values, vision, strategy, and desired culture required to enact the educational purpose of their schools?
Community focus: Is there a strong sense of belonging and community that enhances the dignity, value, and worth of every student?
Character apprenticeship: Are all students supported by learning relationships that encourage them to set challenging goals and to work well on their pathway to success?

Leadership of the educational program: The progress of schools in constructing, disseminating, and convincing their communities to subscribe to a compelling narrative of yesterday, today and tomorrow

Communication: Do school leaders present a compelling and evidence-based narrative to account for the direction in which the school is headed?
Change readiness: Do schools have a clear and agreed plan for positive and incremental improvement toward its preferred future?
Balance: Do schools strike a positive balance between tradition and innovation in its programs and initiatives?
Standards of excellence: Do school leaders set, communicate, and uphold high standards of excellence for everyone’s contribution to, leadership in, and service for school communities?

Teacher effectiveness in growing the “whole person”: The learning journey of schools in building the adaptive expertise and self-expertise of staff in pursuit of high standards in fulfilling their missions and attaining their graduate outcomes

Academic success: Do teachers inspire, challenge, and support all students to learn, grow in character, and perform at their best in classrooms?
Co-curricular experience: Do teachers inspire, challenge, and support all students to learn, grow in character, and perform at their best through a variety of sporting, cultural and other co-curricular activities?
Pastoral care: Do teachers inspire, challenge, and support all students to learn, grow in character, and perform at their best through effective advising, coaching, and mentoring?
Student voice: Do teachers inspire, challenge, and support all students to find their voice and forge a personal narrative about their learning, growth in character, and performance at their best during their time at school?

Student educational experience and outcomes: The culture of schools that asks good questions to produce good answers to multi-dimensional problems about how best to deliver an education for 21C character and competency

Personalisation: Do schools use the best content, approaches, and processes to personalise all students’ learning, growth in character, and performance at their best during their time at the school?
Metacognition: At a developmentally appropriate level, are all students able to understand what they do well and what they should be working on to progress their learning, growth in character, and performance at their best during their time at the school?
Student agency: Do all students partner with their teachers to assess and evaluate their learning, growth in character, and performance at their best during his time at school?
21C competencies: At graduation, do all students have the knowledge, skills, character, and learning habits they will need for their next educational endeavour and beyond?

Strategic and operational alignment: The preferred future of schools with fit for purpose strategic thinking and implementation

Vision: Are schools aligned to a clear vision for achieving excellence in educating their students?
Outcomes: Do schools have an agreed set of educational outcomes that are designed to provide students with the knowledge, skills, character, and learning habits they will need for their future?
Administration: Do schools use the best possible planning and processes to achieve the agreed educational outcomes for their students?
Review: Do schools use a variety of data and other information to evaluate their effectiveness in achieving the agreed educational outcomes for their students?

Teacher professionalism in a community of inquiry and practice: The knowledge engines of schools that focus on improved student outcomes that are linked directly to graduate outcomes and their related competencies

Professional growth: Are teachers committed to self-efficacy and adaptive expertise in achieving excellence in their work of educating their students?
Openness: Do teachers demonstrate a disposition towards curiosity, experimentation, and innovation in their work?
Collaboration to warrant practice: Do teachers work with each other to improve how they inspire, challenge, and support students to achieve the agreed educational outcomes for their learning, growth in character, and performance at their best during their time at school?
Formal feedback: Do teachers regularly receive from schools a range of professional feedback about how well they are performing within processes that are designed to help them to grow and improve in their work?
Optimal resourcing: Do schools seek to provide the best possible conditions and resources for teachers to grow and improve in their work?

The culture of Future Schools depends on the proclivity towards inquiry. In our research, we can see that making decisions and reviewing standards where asking the right questions and pursuing excellence in answering them is at the heart of a growth-minded change culture. It is how we best model and teach all of the competencies our students need to thrive in their world.