Where the Two Shall Meet: Exploring the Relationship Between Teacher Organizational Culture and Student Learning Culture

• In Event: 16.057 - Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: 16.057-21 - Organizational Culture, Teacher Collaboration, and Student Learning

Abstract

This study focuses on the understudied connection between teachers’ and students’ perceptions of school culture. Utilizing a longitudinal sample of approximately 130,000 students and 9,000 teachers in 225 New York City traditional public schools, we investigate whether a stronger professional culture among teachers leads to students’ collective emotional engagement – that is, the extent students together view the school environment as trusting and respectful, both between teachers and students and among students. We find that when teachers report a strong collaborative culture, believe they have adequate materials and feel physically safe, then students report higher levels of collective emotional engagement. These results suggest that teacher culture impacts student culture directly and could be used as a mechanism for school improvement.

Authors

• Jennie Weiner, University of Connecticut

• Monica Higgins, Harvard University