(Eds. The recent emphasis has been on achieving standards through managing schools, teachers and the teaching process. It is probably for this reason that . The project established 21 common perceived effective leadership attributes and behaviors within the 57 participating nations, providing evidence of widespread assumptions about leadership. Find Washington Middle School test scores, student-teacher ratio, parent reviews and teacher stats. of the teachers, students and school community. L. Stoll, D. Fink. However, such a perspective ignores the ability of schools to select many of the cultural inputs. The notions of cultural diffusion and cultural fit assume that programs designed to take account of the cultural expectations and preferences of participants are more likely to lead to effective learning and resulting practice. Cultures Consequences, Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations (2nd ed.). (1996). If leaders believe that a dominant culture is identifiable or achievable, and that it is a single, stable and unifying phenomenon, then changing it becomes a matter of choice, but relatively straightforward and without any moral ramifications. Journal of Educational Administration, 34(5), 7497. The key issue, of course, arising from globalization is that educational leaders will be faced increasingly with challenges to manage cultural change within their institution. Cultural influences on organizational leadership. (Eds. Farrar, E. (2000). At the international scale, for example, the work of Hofstede (1991), has sought to provide a broad general analysis of national organizational cultures. Educators would be extremely concerned to consider fully the implications of assessing school students against standards imported from another nation. Nick Foskett, Print publication date: July 2008 Lakomski, G. Hallinger, P. & , Very many illustrations could be offered of the different expectations and practice of leadership throughout the world. School leaders work within pressing cultures which sustain themselves by multiple conscious and unconscious mechanisms (Lumby with Coleman, 2007). The values they espouse or eschew, the aspirations and achievements they have, and their contribution to communities (local, regional, national), whether positive or negative are the cultural product of the school. | Privacy policy Bottery (1999) has described this as managerial globalization, in which the adoption of western managerialist approaches and business-based forms of accountability underpins educational reform and development. These may be through processes of exclusion or processes of inclusion, resulting in a relatively homogeneous or diverse student body, but in either case the outcome will be a pupil profile which reflects a particular set of cultural characteristics. (2001). Internationalisation, ethnic diversity and the acquisition of intercultural competencies. Hoppe (2004) suggests that experiential learning proves enjoyable and effective for US leaders while French and German leaders often view this approach as time-wasting childs play (p. 353). The International Journal of Educational Management, 15(2), 6877. There exists a considerable literature on culture, which provides a range of conceptualizations. A. & The former has received very little and the latter a good deal more attention (Gronn, 2001; Heck, 1996). Every school, for example, has a specific geographical and social location which will strongly shape its cultural context the inner city school serving a diverse multi-ethnic community will inherit a diversity of cultures that may be quite different to those of the suburban middle class school. The study identifies how cultural literacy amongst the principals of the schools is a key element of the positive achievements they report. The first proposes four 'ideal type' school cultures, based on two underlying domains; the second, a more elaborate and dynamic model, proposes two 'ideal type' school cultures, based on five underlying structures. We must be aware that the spread of good practice internationally through the educational management literature, through the actions of international organisations such as UNESCO, and through the impact of professional development programmes, all of which are dominated by the perspectives of western educational management practitioners and academics, is in danger of presenting such a global picture of good practice. Understanding international differences in culture would provide a basis for planning cultural fit in preparation and development programs. In this set article, Professor Louise Stoll explores the relationship between school culture and school improvement. as aberrations instead of being endemic to organizations (Hoyle & Wallace, 2005, p. 116). you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Mller E. V. Velsor, E. V. Culture can take different forms. Story Hallinger, P. P. W. & Such decisions will be founded on a concept of leadership that embraces far more than a capacity to competently manage the technical aspects of instruction. V. Gronn, P. In an increasingly complex, diverse and unpredictable world, it is necessary for schools and those working with them . The processes of cultural change in schools have been considered extensively in the literature (e.g. Cultural inputs have many facets these will include the external cultural context (society, community and economy at local, regional and national scales), and the cultures brought to the school by all those engaging with it (teachers, parents, pupils, for example). Dorfman Cultural Influences on Leadership and Organizations: Project Globe. Nor is it amoral. M. Bennett London: Falmer. (1995). London: Paul Chapman. A person in charge is not required. , The Place of Culture in Social Theory. A. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Schools with strong, positive cultures feature service-oriented staffs, a collegial ambience, celebratory rituals, supportive social networks, and humor. Leadership is therefore a community property shaped by a complex interrelationship between individuals and context, rather than resulting from individual intent and competition. Research concerning leadership in multinational corporations defines three components of cultural fluency, cognitive complexity, emotional energy and psychological maturity (Iles & Kaur Hayers, 1997, p. 105). Stoll, & Mackay, 2014). The GLOBE project was undertaken in a business context. Stoll and Fink (1996) created a typology of five types of school culture: moving (dynamic and successful determination to keep developing), cruising (rather complacent, often with privileged learners who achieve despite little school dynamism), strolling (neither particularly effective or ineffective, but long term not keeping pace with change), struggling (ineffective but trying to address issues), and finally sinking (ineffective and not improving). All this is set within a strongly performative macro context in many countries. P.J. The first is that culture is neither unitary nor static (Collard & Wang, 2005), and while change may be evolutionary rather than revolutionary, trends and developments in internal and external influences will move the culture forward. Here we shall consider three of these perspectives which we believe provide diverse insights reflections on the tangible components of culture and a number of models of those components in action; consideration of the organizational scales at which culture is important in educational contexts; and a systems view of culture which enables the areas of potential management influence of culture in schools to be identified. Deal, T. Bryant, M. Exploring the cultural context of school improvement in Thailand. Wong, K-C. Journal of Educational Administration, 334(5), 1231. (1996). Dorfman and House (2004) suggest three competing propositions: that cultural congruence in development and leadership is more effective; that cultural difference can be stimulating and bring about positive change; that leadership is universal activity. Hofstede, G. While there is extensive research on the implications of assessment modes on school learners, including the relationship of assessment to variables such as gender and ethnicity, no similar body of research informs how we understand the assessment of leaders. While the former classroom and lecture based model is widespread, they suggest that the process model of problem solving, mentoring and internship holds more hope of reflecting indigenous cultures. Although researchers are just beginning to document the effectiveness of the PLC culture, early indications show that it has a significant positive effect on student learning (Lee & Smith, 1996; Louis & Marks, 1998; Stoll et al., 2006; Wiley, 2001). The New Meaning of Educational Change (3rd ed.). You can find out more in our Privacy Policy. Salaman J. (2007). Hallinger (2001) notes the changing aims of Asian education and specifically the global standards applied to assessing the quality of education in Hong Kong. Cartwright, M. P. Prosser, J. (2004) also found evidence of 35 aspects of leadership which are culturally specific, for example, the degree to which compassion, status-consciousness, autonomy and domination are perceived to contribute to effective leadership is culturally contingent. Journal of School Leadership, 12(2), 693720. (2005). We need to work in organisations, collectively developing an understanding of where they are going and what is important. A preparation for school leadership: International perspectives. An international perspective on leadership preparation. The model identifies seven dimensions of organizational context that shape resultant culture, based on a series of key questions: These questions provide a helpful analytical framework, which can be applied in most educational contexts, and which seeks to identify the underlying values and beliefs within a school. Notwithstanding these different positions, knowledge of how leadership is conceptualized and enacted locally is a sine qua non of successful design. Much leadership theory reflects Anglophone and particularly US culture which Hoppe (2004, p. 335) suggests is consistently described as being individualistic, egalitarian, performance derived, comfortable with change, and action-and-data-oriented. . P. More research of this kind, exploring fit not only to the dominant culture of the nation/region, but also fit to the multiple cultures within the nation or region would provide a potentially powerful antidote to programs which are currently not culturally inclusive. Two other approaches might be more desirable ethically and politically. Leithwood Educational Management & Administration, Bush, T. As we shall demonstrate later in the chapter, it is getting to understand these values and beliefs that is a critical first step for educational leaders in developing the skills to manage, develop and evolve culture in their school. Bajunid (1996, p. 52) argued over a decade ago that in Malaysia there is an urgent need to inspire, motivate and work with relevant and meaningful concepts that the locals are at home and familiar with and to free educational leadership and management from the intellectual domination of Greco-Roman, Christian, Western intellectual traditions (1996, p. 63). 17). (1996). Imperial Middle School 1450 S. Schoolwood Dr. La Habra, CA 90631 Phone: 562-690-2344. International Studies in Educational Administration. Sarason (1971, 1996), writing of US schools, was one of the earliest to insist that improving schools was primarily a question of changing culture. The assumed commonality in attributes and behaviors may also be evident in axiological assumptions. Towards a framework of investigating leadership praxis in intercultural. Hwang, K. K. How principals manage ethnocultural diversity: Learnings from three countries.