How would you define the culture at your school? And who is responsible for creating and cultivating that culture? During a recent #edchat these were the searching questions up for discussion.

@tomwhitby argued that when a teacher went into a new school they could discover its culture very easily. It was “often revealed in teacher candidate interviews”, he said.

Others focused on leadership, with @Brendo524 opining that, “The principal has more impact than any other stakeholder. Hisher leadership is very influential.”

However, @smartins3313 said that such a view might not accurately reflect the ideal set-up. Instead he suggested focusing on the team as a whole. “As a principal, I should not be the gatekeeper but part of the team leading together,” he argued.

@BurkheadBill continued the theme by stressing the importance of everyone in a school pulling in the same direction. He said: “Enthusiasm is free and it is contagious - but so is negativity! Schools with a positive culture make a conscious decision to choose the former.”

And @Basal24 urged schools to remember their wider place in society: “Community is the soil for school culture. Not all soils yield the same crops. We need to enrich some more than others.”

Sarah Cunnane

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