Introduction
St. Martin de Porres High School (SMdP) faces many challenges, which hinder its efficiency in teaching students and being a good and desirable place for them. Its personnel, teachers, and administration are not motivated to change anything or work efficiently, and students are not motivated to study and behave appropriately. Violence between students is prevalent, tensions between them and teachers are high, and the administration pretends not to notice anything. Odiotti and Seiberlich, new administrative leaders of SMdP, are eager to change the situation. They should do hard work to work out a plan for changing the school’s organizational culture and implement empowerment and accountability in it.
St. Martin de Porres High School’s Current Culture
SMdP’s organizational culture is currently highly ineffective: students, teachers, and administrations, three critical components of a school, are mostly dissatisfied with it, and the school’s reputation among other schools is terrible. Students are not motivated to learn, their behavior is mostly wrong, and school violence, such as bullying and fights between teens, is common. Administration and teachers feel alienated from students and each other (Howard et al., 2017). They fear to change anything, and according to surveys, most think that students are safe and happy, which is certainly not the case.
Therefore, while SMdP problems are present at all levels, they all result from bad school culture. Organizational culture is the most crucial element of any organization: when it is well-developed, the company becomes self-organized and works efficiently without coercion (Warrick, 2017). Conversely, when the culture is low, coercion and violence become the only way to make the organization work (Katic et al., 2020). Along with it, people on all levels, from administration to students, tend to deny the problem and refuse to change the system. Students and teachers lose their trust in each other, and tension and even violence between them rise (Gregory & Ripski, 2008).
Students’ expectations from the school do not meet; they lose their value in it and depreciate the school, which leads to a severe worsening of their behavior (Thoonen et al., 2010). As one can see, all mentioned problems have a single root, weak organizational culture. Thus, by changing it, Odiotti and Seiberlich may significantly improve the situation on all levels, eventually increasing the school’s reputation.
Solutions to Change the Culture
Empowerment and accountability are necessary organizational qualities for schools, as they indicate the ability of students and teachers to self-organize. Empowerment means the students’ ability to regulate their behavior and motivation to learn and engage in school life (Cleary et al., 2008). Accountability includes quantitative indicators, such as grades, which show the efficiency of the high school in teaching students; in a broad sense, it also includes teachers’ responsibility for students’ education (Figlio & Loeb, 2011). Empowered students understand that they will obtain satisfaction by learning and participating in school life and all necessary help, while their wrong behavior will be immediately discouraged.
A new SMdP culture should include strong principles of empowerment and accountability, as it will ensure that both teachers and students will be responsible for their actions. In addition, cooperation should be promoted on all levels: between students, teachers, and teacher-student interactions. Only strong trustful relationships, not an authoritarian disciplinary approach, may ensure that students listen to their teacher and be motivated to learn (Gregory & Ripski, 2008; Thoonen et al., 2010). Lastly, school violence should be eliminated using all recent studies about this topic: its victims should obtain free psychological support and protection (Katic et al., 2020).
Abusers should be closely watched and limited in their possibilities, despite expelling them is not a good idea. New leaders should work in three stages to change the organizational culture in SMdP and improve the situation. These are developing a clear plan of changes, implementing it by communicating it on all levels, from students to teachers, and monitoring the implementation precisely by appointing the administration.
New Management Strategies toward Students, Teachers, and Administration
Teachers’ main issue is denying responsibility for their actions, blaming students, and refusing to cooperate. Motivated people are not encouraged but rather repressed by a collective that does not want any changes (Howard et al., 2017). Conversely, motivated teachers should be promoted and protected, while those who discourage them should be ordered not to do this. Another component is the development of mutual trust between teachers and students, which can be reached through conversations and searching for mutual interests (Gregory & Ripski, 2008).
Restorative justice can decrease violence: it means supporting and protecting all victims via conversations and mediation, removing prerequisites for violence (Katic et al., 2020). Students’ academic performance may be improved by showing what students will reach in the future by learning and increasing their interest in solving learning tasks (Thoonen et al., 2010). Lastly, school administration should be appointed to watch for the implementation of those strategies, encourage the changes, and be in constant contact with leaders.
Conclusion
As one can see, while the SMdP’s situation is terrible, it is not irresolvable. New school leaders, Odiotti and Seiberlich, should develop a clear plan to communicate with all three school actors: teachers, administration, and students, to create a new organizational culture. Accountability principles should be developed among teachers: they should be motivated to establish trustful relationships with students and be free to create efficient educational programs.
Students should be empowered by developing their responsibility for their education and engaging in school events, interesting for them. School violence should be eliminated by removing all its prerequisites, protecting victims, and discouraging abusers. Lastly, the school administration’s main task is monitoring the implementation of the mentioned changes, reporting them to school leaders, and motivating teachers and students to develop accountability and empowerment.
References
Cleary, T. J., Platten, P., & Nelson, A. (2008). Effectiveness of the self-regulation empowerment program with urban high school students. Journal of Advanced Academics, 20(1), 70–107. Web.
Figlio, D., & Loeb, S. (2011). School Accountability. In the Handbook of the Economics of Education (pp. 383–421). Web.
Gregory, A., & Ripski, M. B. (2008). Adolescent trust in teachers: Implications for behavior in the high school classroom. School Psychology Review, 37(3), 337–353. Web.
Howard, L. L., Waikar, S., & Berger, G. (2017). Creating a culture of empowerment and accountability at St. Martin de Porres High School (A). Kellogg School of Management Cases, 1(1), 1–7. Web.
Katic, B., Alba, L. A., & Johnson, A. H. (2020). A systematic evaluation of restorative justice practices: School violence prevention and response. Journal of School Violence, 19(4), 1–15. Web.
Thoonen, E. E. J., Sleegers, P. J. C., Peetsma, T. T. D., & Oort, F. J. (2010). Can teachers motivate students to learn? Educational Studies, 37(3), 345–360. Web.
Warrick, D. D. (2017). What leaders need to know about organizational culture. Business Horizons, 60(3), 395–404. Web.