Three important values for school culture

Many people would take for granted that trust, respect and inclusiveness ought to be important within a school culture. But should we take a deeper look at what these values may really demand? This may be particularly relevant given research suggesting students’ perceptions of their school culture contributes to their academic diligence and positive school experience[1]. In this article, I will address the importance of thinking more about them and recognising their educational significance.

Trust

Schools are places where teachers have to be trusted to know what they’re doing and how to help students acquire the knowledge and skills they require. In fact, students’ confidence in the subject knowledge of their teachers appears an important factor in improving attainment[3]. But trust needs to operate at four other levels for sustainable educational improvement.

First, teachers need to feel trusted by their school leadership team. There are no perfect teaching techniques which consistently deliver results in every context. Good teachers try new methods and explore different approaches to keep kids engaged with learning. They need to know that in doing this, they will be supported. In the absence of trust, teachers can get stuck in ‘safe’ but ineffective practices.

Second, teachers need to be able to trust their students. When teachers are open with their students about the methods they’ve used, the results can be powerful. Students benefit from reflecting on what has helped them learn and teachers mature from receiving feedback from thoughtful students about their lesson initiatives.   

Third, it is essential that students experience a trusting environment in the classroom in order to fully benefit from learning opportunities. All learning involves risk-taking. For us to truly learn we have to go beyond what we already know. Students who resist engaging in class activities often do so because they fear damage to their self-image if they try and fail. But the classroom is an ideal place for learning because teachers are present who can provide immediate support and feedback. 

Finally, trust between teachers and parents has also been shown to be important and a way to address the attainment gap caused by socio-economic disadvantage [4]. A school based project funded by The Smith Family organised a series of parent/school engagement activities in the Northern Territory. These were aimed at helping parents confidently communicate with teachers and collaborate with school staff to resolve student issues. Known as Parent Yarns—Learning Together, the facilitators introduced the concept of ‘effective lifelong learning’, using the ELLI tool developed at the University of Bristol. This helped parents to understand their own learning and how they could better support their children to succeed at school. 

Mutual respect

“Yes, sir.”

“Excuse me, Mrs O’Brien.”

Few schools ignore the value of respect. But it is more than the sum of the little gestures and polite expressions we often reduce it to. Enter a staff room after third period on a Wednesday and listen to the way teachers talk about some of the kids from their last lesson!

When respect is seen as an exchange it rarely reveals its benefits. “I’ll show you respect, if you show me respect” reduces it to a currency and many young people operate on highly volatile exchange rates. Practising respect requires us to think as well as talk about others differently. It requires us to value everyone, regardless of how they are treating us at any one moment. In the school context, feeling respected is one of the things students believe most important to their well-being[5].

If increased trust helps teachers connect with students, creating positive relationships and a class atmosphere conducive to the exchange of ideas, then mutual respect helps build a positive focus on learning. Young people who struggle to do well in academic assessments can easily feel school does little for them other than confer a feeling of inadequacy. If you didn’t repeatedly underachieve at school, were placed in lower ability groups and were never commended for any piece of homework, it can be hard to imagine what a self-esteem bashing place schools can be. 

Yet one only has to consider the catalogue of successful adult achievers who ‘failed’ at school in standardised tests and course work assessments but went on to achieve great things through working at their talents. Given the right environment, we’re all capable of leading successful lives, maybe not all rich or famous but positively and happily contributing to society, a profession and within a family.

Feeling respected means being regarded, feeling valued as an individual. As with trust, respectfulness develops through practice and changes the way we see others. Classrooms characterised by mutual respect become places where collaborative learning can flourish and students’ self-efficacy, their sense that they get a task completed, is strengthened.

But it’s not just respect between students and teachers which is important, teachers also need to feel respected within their schools. This begins by providing teachers more opportunities to voice their opinions and recognising their contributions to improving educational provision.

Inclusiveness

Being accepted for who one is regardless of any criteria draws us towards the concept of inclusiveness. The importance of this value emerged throughout research I carried out in five secondary level schools in England. It appeared deeply connected to the reasons students gave for feeling safe to be themselves at school without fear of being bullied. It was also central to their descriptions of feeling supported within school. But the findings also pointed to the way inclusiveness underpins students’ orientation towards deep learning.

In understanding this, we need to extricate it as a concept from some of its current educational uses.  One academic[6] describes how many arguments for inclusiveness see it in political terms and as a social instrument. This leads us to miss its educational value. Yet inclusiveness is really about practising a suspension of judgement in relation to the new, coupled with respect and openness. Students and teachers don’t choose each other or the others in class. But they are all engaged in an endeavour to learn about the world. Seeing the value of doing this respectfully and openly with others, allows us to catch glimpses of different perspectives that improves our understanding.

In fact, it can be argued that a disposition towards inclusiveness is fundamental to all deep learning because learning is really about being open to receive the 'other'. Curriculum content is an 'other'; students who have been encouraged to practice inclusiveness towards fellow students become more disposed to receive the 'otherness' of new learning opportunities.

Conclusion

 Trust, mutual respect and inclusiveness are like muscles that take time to build. Strengthening one helps strength others too. Creating school cultures where these values are strong takes commitment. It’s worth the effort. When authentically practised learning improves, whole school well-being increases and a culture of positive well-being emerges.

Can you think of three ways you could build more trust with your students?

Are there any teaching methods you use which might be undermining respect?

What could you do to help students develop a more inclusive disposition towards others?

______________________________

Article originally published in NEXUS Circle’s monthly professional learning publication designed to equip, empower and enable educational leaders.

https://circle.education/nexus/

______________________________

Thanks for reading. If you’ve appreciated the post please ‘like’ and share with your network. More posts can be found on my profile page here.

Interested in knowing more about learning power, the importance of seeing the relationship between learning dispositions and willpower, or considering how teachers' development can be supported? Have you ever wondered why growth mindset or formative assessment techniques don't deliver long-term results?

Nigel is an educational researcher, consultant and speaker working to help schools and students realise their learning potential. 

______________________________

References

[1] Lovat, T., & Hawkes, N. (2012). Values Education: A Pedagogical Imperative for Student Wellbeing. The University of Newcastle, Australia.

Lovat, T., Clement, N., Dally, K., & Toomey, R. (2011). The impact of values education on school ambience and academic diligence. International Journal of Educational Research, 50(3), 166-170.

[2] “Trust in Schools: A Core Resource of Improvement”, by Anthony S. Bryk and Barbara Schneider, 2002

[3] Halim, L., Abdullah, S. I. S. S., & Meerah, T. S. M. (2014). Students’ perceptions of their science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 23(2), 227-237.

[4] Forsyth, P. B., Barnes, L. L., & Adams, C. M. (2006). Trust-effectiveness patterns in schools. Journal of Educational Administration, 44(2), 122-141.

[5] Simmons, C., Graham, A., & Thomas, N. (2015). Imagining an ideal school for wellbeing: Locating student voice. Journal of Educational Change, 16(2), 129-144.

[6] Korsgaard, M. T. (2016). An Arendtian perspective on inclusive education: towards a reimagined vocabulary. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1-12.