Investigating specialist school ethos … or do you mean culture?

This paper explores the concept of ethos as a facet of the government’s rapidly growing initiative of the ‘specialist school’. Schools accepted on to the scheme are expected to create a new identity, or ethos: but what exactly is meant by that rather nebulous term? And, in reality, is something as all‐consuming as a school ethos, or culture, something that a school can readily conjure up? This discussion, one facet of the author’s case study of a Specialist Sports College, explores the concept of school cultures, but also gives consideration to areas such as conflicting and ‘toxic’ cultures, and to the possibility that changing a school’s culture can have negative as well as positive effects.     

Disciplinary exclusion: the influence of school ethos

Disciplinary exclusion is a strategy used by some schools in response to challenging behaviour. While some studies have explored interventions that can be implemented to reduce the exclusion of ‘at risk’ pupils, others have considered how the underlying school ethos influences how challenging behaviour is understood and managed. The current study explored factors within school ethos that may influence how challenging behaviour is managed. It aimed to identify differences in school ethos between excluding and non-excluding primary and junior schools in areas with the highest rates of social deprivation. Three focus groups and two interviews were initially conducted to identify factors that staff believed to be relevant to the inclusion and exclusion of pupils. Focus groups and interviews explored staff perceptions of practices in school and beliefs about inclusion and exclusion. Inductive-semantic thematic analysis was performed to identify statements indicating a difference between excluding and non-excluding schools. Statements were used to create a questionnaire that was distributed to 16 schools and completed by 128 staff. Thematic analysis identified 13 themes, 10 of which indicated a difference in view between excluding and non-excluding schools. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant differences in responses between groups on the themes of Responsibility, Clarity, Consistency, Behaviour Management, Beliefs about Inclusion and Beliefs about Reducing Exclusion. Further analysis also indicated greater consistency across responses from non-excluding school staff. These findings provide support for previous literature emphasising the importance of some key features of school ethos in creating an inclusive environment.     

Authentic school partnerships for enabling inclusive education in Hong Kong

Education reform towards a whole school approach to catering for diversity within Hong Kong government schools has seen the initiation of several strategies to support mainstream schools in this transition. One of these approaches is the use of a resource school model. Special and mainstream schools in Hong Kong are being invited to establish themselves as resource support hubs for partner mainstream schools. This paper investigates how this model is being implemented by considering one of each type of resource school. Three broad themes have emerged that relate to the type of support being offered and sought: the school ethos and culture of the partner schools; and management issues. The effectiveness of a resource model is evaluated for its use in Hong Kong.     

Between ethos and practice: are Ireland’s new multi-denominational primary schools equal and inclusive?

This article explores the ethos of multi-denominational primary schools in the context of increasing cultural and religious diversity in the Republic of Ireland. In particular, it investigates how the official ethos is played out in day-to-day school interactions. The mixed-methods study draws on data collected from 11 community national schools focussing on the perspectives of principals, teachers and pupils. The data indicates while schools’ formal ethos sets out guiding principles and standards, a closer look reveals the specific identity of each individual school within the broader formal framework. The article presents a new perspective on school ethos research by exploring the extent to which it guides the promotion of diversity and tolerance in a multi-faith context. While the study is carried out in Ireland, it is also of interest to other jurisdictions where schools are faced with increasing religious diversity among their student population.     

The integrated school in a conflict society: a comparative analysis of two integrated primary schools in Northern Ireland

The purpose of this paper is to compare the approach to promoting positive relationships between Catholics and Protestants in two types of integrated primary school in Northern Ireland. Drawing on qualitative interviews with teachers, governors and parents in one transforming school and one grant maintained integrated school, i.e. one representative of each of the two types, the paper shows that whilst there are distinctions in the ways that the schools promote their image and ethos, the ‘lived reality’ of the schools, as reported by the research participants, is almost indistinguishable. The paper suggests that both schools tend not to refer to or explore cultural difference and that this tendency to ‘minimise difference’ seems to have the potential to silence school members who do wish to explore their own and other cultures. It is argued that such practices are likely to impede rather than facilitate the progress of good inter‐community relations.     

Policy enactments in the UK secondary school: examining policy,practice and school positioning

This paper presents a first attempt in an ongoing research study of the policy environments in four UK secondary schools to examine policy enactment, where ‘enactment’ refers to an understanding that policies are interpreted and ‘translated’ by diverse policy actors in the school environment, rather than simply implemented. The paper is divided into two parts. The first part presents an audit of the policies encountered in four case study schools in the south‐east of England. The second part looks at one current English government policy, namely personal learning and thinking skills, and how this is taken up in two of the case study schools. In this way, the paper not just explores why a policy is adopted but also illustrates the capacity for school‐based policy elaboration, where schools produce their own ‘take’ on policy, drawing on aspects of their culture or ethos, as well as on the situated necessities.     

Ethos,Habitus and Situation for Learning: An ecology

It is argued that the concept of ethos connects with Bourdieu's 'habitus' and the notion of situated learning. It can be argued that ethos can be defined as an organisation's habitus. An ecological perspective suggests that habituses external to the school provide dispositions that continuously construct and re-construct school ethos, and the evolving ethos itself provides developing dispositions and contexts for situated co-learning and participation in communities of practice; for example, shared learning about how to learn. Some implications for school improvement and leadership in schools are discussed.     

A NEW LOOK AT INTELLIGENCE TESTING

The aim of the paper is to explore teachers’ methods of delivering an ethos of tolerance, respect and mutual understanding in one integrated secondary school in Northern Ireland. Drawing on interviews with 18 teachers in the school, it is argued that most teachers make ‘critical choices’ which both reflect and reinforce a ‘culture of avoidance’, whereby politically or religiously contentious issues are avoided rather than explored. Although teachers are well-intentioned in making these choices, it is shown that they have the potential to create the conditions that maintain or even harden psychological boundaries between Catholics and Protestants rather than dilute them.     

LEARNING TO BE IN PUBLIC SPACES: IN FROM THE MARGINS WITH DANCERS, SCULPTORS, PAINTERS AND MUSICIANS

ABSTRACT:  This article reports research in three Nottingham schools, concerned with (1) 'The school as fertile ground: how the ethos of a school enables everyone in it to benefit from the presence of artists in class'; (2) 'Children on the edge: how the arts reach those children who otherwise exclude themselves from class activities, for any reason' and (3) 'Children's voices and choices: how even very young children can learn to express their wishes, and then have them realised through arts projects'. The research methodology was rooted in two modes of inquiry, philosophical investigation and action research. The article draws on this research to argue that arts-based work in school has helped disadvantaged and/or disaffected children to engage in activities (both arts-based and others), and to be able to lay the groundwork for exercising voice and agency as they did so. If social justice is to flourish there is a need for particular kinds of public spaces and a need to create conditions such that children can learn to participate in those spaces, whether or not they are comfortable with the usual settings for 'rational argument' or 'deliberative democracy'. It is suggested that arts-based education, in some forms, is one good way of creating these conditions.     

The role of principals in creating inclusive school environments: insights from community national schools in Ireland

This article seeks to provide an insight into the role of school principals dealing with newly multicultural and multi-faith student populations by drawing on a mixed-methods study on state-funded multi-denominational community national schools in Ireland. The study explores the extent to which school principals address the increasing social and cultural diversity in their schools by helping to establish inclusive and supportive school environments. The study identifies the main agents in shaping the school culture, and how the multi-denominational ethos is experienced by students. The article endeavours to provide academics and practitioners with a better understanding of the importance of leadership in shaping school climate that promotes a sense of belonging for all the students.     

Diversity,Community, and Pluralism in Jewish Community Day High Schools

Students in “community” (nondenominational) Jewish high schools represent a diversity of denominational affiliations, including those who affiliate with more than one denomination and those that affiliate with none. These schools strive to create communities in which students with varying Jewish beliefs and practices are, at the very least, respected and comfortable. At the same time, schools work to avoid internal Jewish communal fragmentation. In this article, the approach to diversity in three such high schools is compared. Each school, in addition to presenting an approach distinct from the others, has created opportunities for communal Jewish engagement through the enactment of practices that are rooted in Judaism and in the ethos of the school, and allow individualization within universal participation. Further, the range of approaches to Jewish diversity exhibited raises questions about pluralism as it relates to the Jewish educational goals of these schools.     

In a silent way: student perceptions of silence in community

Abstract

This paper explores young people’s perceptions of the role and value of shared ‘gathered’ silence in the corporate life of a school community. It draws on a small-scale qualitative investigation in a Quaker school setting. There may be particular things to learn about the practice of stillness and silence inherent in the ethos of a Quaker school. The silence referred to in this discussion of its value in schools is a rich, positive ‘strong’ type of silence. This study suggests that shared silent spaces can be both personal and interpersonal. In terms of the former, they may offer valuable opportunities for young people to be still and open to their inner life. Regarding the latter, interpersonal shared community silence may enhance a sense of closeness and connection to one another and perhaps offer some opportunity for freedom from the intrusion of the ‘noise’ of everyday life and the demands of others.     

Effective schools,school segregation,and the link with school achievement

This study examines whether 3 teacher-rated aspects of school effectiveness differ across school segregation profiles in Stockholm, and to what extent these indicators are associated with the academic achievement of 9th-grade students. Analyses were based on 2 cross-sectional data collections performed in 2014 and 2016, respectively (147 school units), one among teachers (n = 2,024) and the other among 9th-grade students (n = 9,151). Multilevel analysis was applied, estimating 2-level random intercept linear regression models. Results show that teachers’ ratings of school leadership, teacher cooperation, and school ethos, as well as student-reported marks differ across school segregation profiles. Findings further reveal significant associations between these school effectiveness indicators and student performance, even when taking student family background and the school’s student body composition into consideration. In part, these associations are also identified within segregation profiles. Moreover, results show that school ethos acts as a mediator between school segregation profile and student achievement.     

Parental Involvement in School Policy‐Making

A positive school ethos is considered a key factor contributing to successful school improvement. Yet, despite its assumed educational influence, little is known about how ethos in schools is experienced by students. This study takes a fresh look at school ethos through the meanings which final year students attribute to their lived experience of secondary school. Implications for school improvement are considered.     

Every school a school of choice: school choice in Ireland as viewed through American eyes

‘Choice’ and ‘freedom’ as measured by the ability of parents to select their children's schools are deeply embedded in the national ethos of the United States of America. Wealthy American parents have always exercised school choice but minority and lowincome students are often trapped in failing schools. This paper is based on research conducted in a purposive sample of Irish primary schools into the nature of school choice. The authors examine five aspects of the Irish national primary school system that could provide models for American educators, whose vision often stops at the boundaries of the United States: education law, school choice for all, a national curriculum framework, the role of assessment, and the role of parents and educators in the creation of new schools. While arguably the five relate directly to school choice of different degrees, they collectively weave a web whereby school systems in the Republic of Ireland and the USA may productively be compared to the benefit of both.     

The Ethos of Critical Research and the Idea of a Coming Research Community

Critical educational research offers the researcher a position and an ethos of comfort. Even the declared recognition of the relativity of principles, norms or criteria so characteristic of much critical research does not prevent it from looking immediately for a way out of this uncomfortable situation i.e. to keep to the idea that comfort (for the researcher) is needed and desirable. However, we suggest that this uncomfortable condition is constitutive for critical educational research and may be even for education as such. Therefore the article can be considered as a genealogical analysis of this comfortable critical research, in which we show how the birth of the milieu of the modern school goes together with the instauration of two forms of a comfortable research ‘ethos’: a research ethos rooted in a pastoral milieu and a research ethos rooted in a bureaucratic milieu. In the last section of the article we indicate that another ‘experimental’ ethos of research is possible, including the acceptance of discomfort. This is the ethos of a critical researcher as an inhabitant of a coming research community and as being exposed to the present.     

Considerate,convivial and capacious? Finding a language to capture ethos in ‘creative’ schools

Concepts of school ‘ethos’ or ‘culture’ have been widely debated in education since the 1980s. This is partly as a consequence of marketisation, partly because ethos has been identified as a low-cost route to school improvement. Corporate, authoritarian, and most recently ‘military’ models of ethos have been widely promulgated in the UK. Another significant strand of educational thinking, however, has emphasised ethos for and as learning: how schools might prefigure alternative, more socially just, worlds. This article argues that accounting for such divergent notions of ethos demands greater attention to the intellectual resources mobilised in interpreting educational processes. We discuss schools that used their work with the English creative learning programme, Creative Partnerships, to develop what we describe as ‘considerate, convivial and capacious’ school ethos. We aim thereby to value their achievements, provide tools to contest dominant discourses around ethos, and advocate more critical, reflexive approaches to researching school cultures.     

“Straw bonnets” to superior schooling: The “failure” of the charity school movement in the context of nineteenth-century Ireland – a reappraisal

The spectacular growth and equally spectacular decline of the eighteenth-century charity school movement prompts this examination of the contribution made by the movement to nineteenth-century schooling – particularly superior or secondary schooling. Educational historians have argued that the movement was a failure. This paper argues that only in the case of one charity school-type – the charity day school – may failure be safely attributed to the charity school movement. The charity boarding schools, hospitals and asylums were far from being a failure. Indeed, in nineteenth-century Ireland, these schools, in response to social change, advanced from “straw bonnets” to superior schooling. Historians have also noted that the real difficulty surrounding the charity school is that of defining it. For Jones, it was an omnibus term that embraced all schools of a like nature. And indeed charity schools constitute a broad genre of schooling. In order to qualify the received assessment of the charity school movement in terms of “failure”, it has been found necessary to classify the charity school types within the broad genre they constitute. The paper assembles a number of charity school types and identifies the charity boarding school as that institution that successfully made the transition to superior status. The characteristics of the superiorisation process are outlined, as are the unique circumstances of nineteenth-century Ireland that facilitated, indeed required, it.