Over the past twenty years, education reform efforts aimed at teachers, students, principals, curriculum, and school facilities have targeted urban schools. Yet, many social policies fail. Education reforms are more likely to succeed when the culture of an initiative is congruent with the culture of a school. Currently, there is no way for stakeholders to decide if the socio-cultural realities of their school and a policy's design are well matched. This single-site case study tested whether a quantitative measure could accurately assess a school's culture. To do so, interviews with school personnel and staff observations were conducted and compared to the assessment results. It was found that survey data was congruent with the data collected qualitatively from staff members. These findings hold promise for the future development and implementation of programs, as well as, principal leadership practice.
Read
