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Shaping School Culture: The Heart of Leadership

Riveting stories of school transformation often hinge on how dedicated individuals improve a school by changing the school’s culture, the expectations and assumptions that teach the school community about itself. School culture matters deeply, influencing outcomes and the degree to which a school helps students learn and grow. Shaping School Culture sheds light on the elements that constitute school culture: ceremonies and rituals, traditions and stories, roots and history, architecture and artifacts. Deal and Peterson intersperse gleanings from educational, sociological and business literature with vivid examples from successful student-centered schools–and, in the chapter titled "Transforming Toxic Cultures"–a frightening example of a destructive school which provides an illuminating contrast that can help schools see what they might be doing right (or, disturbingly, wrong).

The second half of the book focuses on how leaders–teacher leaders and principals –influence school culture, emphasizing the roles that leaders can inhabit (historian, anthropological sleuth, visionary, symbol, potter, actor, poet, healer). This invitation to take different approaches allows people with varied leadership styles to feel they have an opportunity to promote cultural change, and it creates multiple leadership opportunities among a school’s staff members.

By examining the gestalt of schools and capturing the fuzzy idea of culture through specific examples of good practice, Deal and Peterson offer an invigorating approach to school change and inspiring ways for leaders across a school community to rise above the daily fog and make change happen.

reviewed by Jill Davidson

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This resource last updated: April 15, 2003

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