The School Culture shapes the pupils as responsible citizens-Dr.K.Govindaraju

View of SEVAI Shanthi School sports day as school culture

The culture of the school will be viewed as the existence of an interplay between three factors: the attitudes and beliefs of persons both inside the school and in the external environment, the cultural norms of the school, and the relationships between persons in the school. Each of these factors may present barriers to change or a bridge to long-lasting implementation of school improvement. It bears repeating, however, that the interrelatedness of these facets of the school most strongly affects the efforts of those seeking to improve schools. An examination of school culture is important because, "alike as schools may be in many ways, each school has an ambience (or culture) of its own and, further, its ambience may suggest to the careful observer useful approaches to making it a better school" .Depending upon how well leaders understand and use this notion, culture can assist school improvement efforts for at-risk students, or act as a barrier to change. The culture of the school reflects the local culture in many ways. When schools seek to improve, a focus on the values, beliefs, and norms of both the school and the environment outside the school is necessary. The general knowledge base regarding school culture focuses as School culture does affect the behavior and achievement of elementary and secondary school students though the effect of classroom and student variables remains greater. Lasting fundamental change (e.g. changes in teaching practices or the decision making structure) requires understanding and, often, altering the school's culture; cultural change is a slow process. The effect of school culture on school improvement efforts is significant. The attitudes and beliefs of persons in the school shape that culture. The attitudes and beliefs of those in the school create mental models of what schooling is and how others in the school should and will respond to events and actions. It is from these attitudes and beliefs that the culture of the school is created. These belief systems may help educators feel more successful, but may also prevent them from imagining what could be. School systems are guided by multiple and sometimes competing sets of goals. Power in school systems is distributed throughout the organization. Decision making in school systems is a bargaining process in order to arrive at solutions that satisfy a number of constituencies. The public is influential in major and sometimes unpredictable ways. A variety of situationally appropriate ways to teach is allowed and desired so that teachers may be optimally effective. Just as the perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and values of teachers impact change efforts, student beliefs and attitudes influence school improvement. External values affect the culture of the school, shaping what goes on inside. The belief in attending school as a prime pathway to virtue and success in later life is no longer widely or firmly shared. The intuition and insights of local educators have been replaced by an emphasis on research, giving more authority to researchers' and consultants' expertise than tradition and experience. Just as the attitudes and beliefs of persons both inside and outside the school building may facilitate or impede change, the norms, or informal rules that govern behavior exert influence on change efforts. These norms are developed over time and are influenced by the attitudes and beliefs of those inside and outside the school. Because of the impact of cultural norms on school improvement, the extent to which individual staff members internalize that culture affects improvement efforts as well. The relationships between students and teachers and students and their peers can facilitate or impede change. When teachers are interested in students and demonstrate respect for them, a community of caring is nurtured. Like other cultures, the school culture consists of a dominant culture and subcultures of various groups. The student culture is one of these subcultures. -Govin