Shaping School Culture: The Heart of Leadership

This book was a required read while I was a graduate student. I found the book worthwhile and insightful. In my current role as a school administrator I refer to this text often. I reread sections, especially what not to do while trying to 'change' culture. I highly recommend this book to school leaders.

Every group you've been a proud member of has had a strong identity. Cultures can be intentional or accidental and likely a mix of both. This book offers lots of anecdotes describing what works and what doesn't. A school's cultural strengths will overcome many other challenges like low funding and large classes. Where principals, teachers and students set their expectations for their small society has everything to do with successful education and having fun at school. If you are an educational professional, parent or student, this will give you lots of ideas to improve the culture of your school (or your own organizatons).

This book is a must read for any individual who wishes to create positive change within a school environment. It is written with clarity and wit, appropriate for any agent of change within the field of education. All who have experienced serving in an administrative capacity for a school district or educational service agency will quickly relate and definitely benefit from both the information and insight that is provided by Terrence E. Deal and Kent D. Peterson. In particular, principals will find this book to be an invaluable resource in understanding the potency of school culture and how it relates to leadership techniques, issues, and decisions. Deal and Peterson uncover the impact and consequence of school culture with lucid and powerful examples that support their perspective while entertaining the reader. They unravel the intangible mystery of why those that choose to lead seldom make any real progress toward credible and sustainable changes in our schools.The functions and impact of the values, belief-systems and norms within school buildings are discussed and explained in terms of their hierarchy in the creation of positive and negative school cultures. The authors provide a multitude of scenarios of actual school environments that lucidly illustrate the numerous "hidden" messages that provide the infrastructure and mindsets of school culture. Surprisingly, many of the determinants of school culture will provide the reader with instant (and many times humorous) personalized images drawn from their own experiences. Principals and administrators who read this book will inevitably view their own schools with a refined and newly directed perspective. In addition, they will view their role as a leader within the context of culture. The authors force a leader to consider the dynamics of culture through exploration of school rituals, artifacts, ceremonies and the implications of their symbolism. The authors map out a strategy for change using the regularly ignored mundane routines of the school as the underpinnings for reshaping school culture.This book will "change" and broaden the way any leader comprehends "change".

This book was used in a graduate class I was attending while pursuing a Master of School Administration degree. It is very easy to read and is a resource that every school administrator should have. Schools are a community and have a culture all their own. The authors provide a wealth of information that enables one to understand what "school culture" is and how to build a positive school culture. I highly recommend this book to anyone who works in a school or other organization that serves children and adolescents.

I was pleasantly surprised with the content of this book. It is well thought out and concises. There are lots of examples of the points being raised. Everyone should read this book in particular educators who are or desire to be administrators of schools. Parents who are actively involved with their child's education would benefit as well. Superb and well done. If only I could write as well.