Unpacking and Operationalizing School Culture: A Sociological Approach

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session One
  In Roundtable Session: Sociology of Education SIG Roundtables: From Micro to Macro (Table 18)

Abstract

Scholars, educators, and policy makers have long seen school culture as crucial to school success. Yet the concept remains under-theorized and unspecified. This paper draws from work in organizational theory to propose a model of school culture that includes: mission, values and norms, assumptions and beliefs, and mechanisms. We further contend that school culture is heavily influenced by local context and is co-created by school participants, especially students, who draw from cultural models within and outside of the school. Using ethnographic studies of two urban public schools with very different missions and philosophies, we show how school cultures are formed and sustained and offer a richer analysis of school culture as constituted by multiple actors and social processes.

Authors

• Maia B. Cucchiara, Temple University
  Presenting Author

• Joanne Golann, Vanderbilt University
  Presenting Author

• David K. Diehl, Vanderbilt University
  Presenting Author