Deliberately Developmental Principles: A Model for School Culture Transformation

Abstract

Schools operate in a constant state of change. Developing educators’ capacity to manage perpetual education reform efforts requires a fundamental change in school culture. This elusive term “culture” refers to the customs, expectations, written and unwritten rules in a school building. Today’s reform efforts bring focus to the need for equitable opportunities for our most vulnerable students. The goal of this capstone is to contribute to a deeper understanding of school culture, one that prepares adults to tackle the systemic inequities in school systems. This new approach to school culture is based on the principles of deliberately developmental organizations. Whereas schools traditionally focus on a skills-based, efficiency model of culture, deliberately developmental cultures position personal development at the center of learning in order to enable adults to be more effective leaders and educators. The promise of this approach is explored through the creation of a New Principal Institute at New York City Department of Education Community School District 11 in the Bronx. New principals engaged in monthly professional learning sessions organized to support them in examining their mental models in designing a school culture that prioritizes adult learning and accountability; building psychological safety within their Instructional Leadership Teams for deeper levels of inquiry; and creating and leading systems and structures for distributed leadership of a shared vision for teaching and learning. Throughout the capstone, I use Robert Kegan & Lisa Lahey’s research on deliberately developmental organizations to formulate the project, analyze results, and offer insights for systems-level leaders seeking to design this innovative approach to school culture. The paper concludes with implications for myself, Community School District 11, and the sector at large.