The term culture has been defined by many people to mean different things in different situations. In a schools perspective, the culture is looked at as interplay between three factors which are; the school, parents, and the community. Looking at all these factors, one can realize that each one of them play a very important role in the development of the school culture. We are going to divide these factors into two broader factors that have a great influence towards the culture of a school or the learning culture. The internal factors that include the school surrounding the culture of the school, discipline, programs, and teachers among others that plays an important role (Epstein, 2011). On the other side, the external factors also have much to the school culture, the community participation in setting external rules, parents role in helping the students achieve the goals of the school among others are important ways that the external factors influence the school culture. The paper will therefore be presenting why these factors interplay is important in enhancing the educational school culture in the US and the world at large.
Taking a close study at the educational school culture is important since different schools have different cultures that make them unique are different from others. The involvement of the two broad factors will in one way or the other influence the culture of the school (Epstein, 2011). To begin with, it is very important to look at the culture before taking a glance at the way the various factors influence it. One important thing to discover is that, the educational school culture is never static; it keeps on changing from time to time due to the factors surrounding it. It is also very important to notice that, school cultures are formed thus it can be changed by the surrounding factors. After realizing all these about the school culture, it is therefore, necessary to look at the reasons which make interplay of the two broad factors enhance the educational school culture.
Partnership of parents and the school ensure adequate parenting. It has for long been overlooked that the task of parenting is left for the parents. However, it is very important to understand that the task of parenting without the assistance from the school can become a very taxing duty. It is very true that the parents are the first teachers, their influence counts much in children’s success (Gonsalves & Leonard, 2007). The efforts of parents without the help of parents may finally influence the culture of the school, this is because, if children are not brought up in a proper manner, the teachers may then get a lot of hard time to correct the behavior that was first build in the child, which still has potential to spread to other children within the school thus affecting the culture of the school (Hargreaves, 2005).
Communication forms part of the school culture. There is much that comes out of communication; the way a school forms its communication channel to the parents helps to create a culture that will help the school achieve its goals. In the United States, many preschool programs embrace communication to ensure the success of the children in schools (Epstein, 2011). They use report books, homework books among others to tell the parents what is required in order to make reasonable progress in the child’s life. The parents are usually asked to leave their contacts in schools in order for communication to be effective. The use of mails by the school to the parents and vice versa becomes very important in the formation of the school culture. The school partners with the parents to enable it school to come up with its culture (Sriraman, 2007).
Learning is the key area in any school; any school aims at providing knowledge to students in order to ensure their success. The learning process is integral in a sense that it does not; only end in school. In is a continuous process that involves the teachers, parents and students; schools come up with interactive programs that require the assistance of the parent in order to inculcate culture awareness. The nature of courses that students choose contributes to what the school will generally be. That will explain how important the partnership between parents, the community and school help to enhance the culture of the school (Gonsalves & Leonard, 2007). In addition to this, the decision making of any school relies not only in the school’s ability but involves several stake holders in order to decide on issues that will finally impact the culture of the school. Several schools in the US and elsewhere do not pass any decision without involving the parents and perhaps the community, this is why we have the parents, teachers association that handles serious issues in the school that contributes to the culture of the school. Without these organizations or associations within the school, it may not conclusively come up with an innovative culture (Epstein, 2011).
In closing, the educational school culture is very important to the success of students. That culture is influenced by both the internal factors and external ones since it is not static. The educational culture keeps on changing from time to time thus making every school unique since there are no two schools that can share the same culture. The involvement of the parents, community and the school makes it vital in the development of the educational culture.
Epstein, J. (2011). School, Family, and Community Partnerships : Preparing Educators and Improving Schools. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Gonsalves, L., & Leonard, J. (2007). New hope for urban high schools: Cultural reform, moral leadership, and community partnership. Westport, Conn: Praeger.
Hargreaves, A. (2005). Extending educational change. (International handbook of educational change.) Dordrecht: Springer.
Sriraman, B. (2007). International perspectives on social justice in mathematics education. Missoula, MT: University of Montana Press.
