School Culture Case Study

School culture theory is the second theoretical perspective to illuminate the contextually changing landscape of culture within public schools. Biegel and Kuehl (2010) define school culture as generally being comprised of the following: (a) vision, (b) motivation, (c) pride, (d) ‘mood’ pervasive within an organization, (e) the amount to which individuals get along, and (f) tolerance of differences (p. 10). Specific theories that posit the role of the school leader as the driver for any change reform to uncover the role school culture plays in perpetuating the status quo for sexual minority (namely, LGBT) students.

Influential organizational change agents Peterson and Deal (1998) define culture in their highly cited work as “the stream of norms, values, beliefs, traditions, and rituals that has built up over time” (p. 28). Tacitly, culture provides a set of norms or expectations that direct the activities of both adults and students in schools (Hinde, 2004). The power of public school culture over time is uncovered as the executor of expected institutional norms surrounding heteronormativity and homophobia

First, leaders must examine the culture with hopes of better understanding it (Alemán, 2009; Hinde, 2004; Peterson & Deal, 1998). Second, leaders identify core values within the culture. Third, leaders reinforce positive core values and shared purpose (Peterson & Deal, 1998). The third way in which leaders indirectly influence a school’s organizational culture is through the allocation of time and resources including professional development, which policies receive primary focus and enforcement, recognition and reward decision making, and how individuals may be supervised or reprimanded (Meyer, 2010). It is when school leaders fail to intervene by putting an end to anti-gay bullying and harassment that a school climate and culture becomes one of fear, hate and violence (Koschoreck & Slattery,