How to build an enabling school culture

In a private school in Pune, parents are invited to spend an entire day at school, observing classes and co-curricular activities. At the end of the day, the senior administration seeks their feedback and suggestions for improvements. In another school in Lucknow, support staff are encouraged to attend courses of their choice for their professional growth and development. In yet another school in Bengaluru, children are encouraged to solve conflicts among themselves through dialogue, rather than being punished. All these instances exemplify intentional practices that schools implement, and which reflect their school culture.

School culture, while an abstract concept, is central to establishing and maintaining quality teaching-learning environments. It comprises the overall ethos and vision that guide a school, and the values and norms that are evident in the everyday practices and processes adopted by the institution. For instance, school culture reflects in the ways students are involved (or not) in its daily activities, the extent and ways in which parental participation is sought; teacher autonomy in planning and teaching lessons or assessment; the systems and processes that ensure a collaborative school environment; the school community’s attitude towards inclusion and diversity, and other important aspects of everyday governance.

A desirable school culture involves creating a supportive environment for everyone. Schools exist within the larger society and are influenced by the wider social, political, and economic context that surrounds them. The educational aim of a school should be to contribute to creating a society based on the principles of social justice and equity. School leaders play a critical role in building such an environment through the processes and practices they set up and embrace. An empowering school setting is one where every member of the school community — students, educators, parents, and support staff — feels equally valued, respected, and believes that they have a voice and representation in matters that affect them.

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For students coming from diverse linguistic, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, this means creating safe learning spaces where bias and bullying are impermissible. It also means that children are valued as partners in their schooling journey and that their views on matters that concern them are not treated with apathy or callousness. For this to happen, students should feel that their school is a secure space where their opinion is valued and free expression is encouraged. A school principal shared that she always kept the door to her office ajar, signalling to students an important message about their unhindered access to her, anytime.

For teachers, an enabling school environment is one where they are encouraged to take autonomous decisions about their day-to-day classroom practices, such as deciding how to teach a particular topic, how to discipline students, what teaching- learning materials to use, how to assess students’ learning and so on. Teachers feel valued and more responsible when they are not overburdened with rules and regulations that stifle their pedagogic freedom. Recognising their everyday work, giving credit where it’s due, and giving equal importance to their professional development and personal well-being are all important actions that can build sustainable and enabling school cultures. School leaders should set systems and processes in place that create such opportunities and enabling environments for teachers.

Parents can contribute to culture building in both tangible and intangible ways. When seen as partners and collaborators in their children’s learning journey, parents can positively impact and support teachers’ work. This can be achieved by creating opportunities for trusting relationships between teachers and parents to evolve. Including parents in decisions related to the children’s well-being and ensuring that interactions with them are geared towards cooperation and not confrontation, is important.

Lastly, the invisible but extremely important members of the school community are the support staff, bus drivers, gardeners, security staff, cleaners and others without whose support the school cannot function. An enabling environment ensures respectful and dignified conduct towards these members and elicits their participation and commitment to the ethos and values of the school. For example, gender and disability sensitisation sessions for the enabling staff can be organised to help them work with children in an inclusive school environment.

Thus, while the role of the school leader in building school cultures is pivotal, it is also important to recognise that an enabling culture takes time to evolve and is lasting.

Views are personal.

The writer is faculty at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru.