Shaping School Culture: Pitfalls, Paradoxes, and Promises

by Terrence E. Deal, Kent D. Peterson

A Guide for Shaping Your School's Culture

In this thoroughly revised and updated edition of their classic book, Shaping School Culture, Terrence Deal and Kent Peterson address the latest thinking on organizational culture and change and offer new ideas and strategies on how stories, rituals, traditions, and other cultural practices can be used to create positive, caring, and purposeful schools. This new edition gives expanded attention to the important symbolic roles of school leaders, including practical suggestions on how leaders can balance cultural goals and values against accountability demands, and features new and powerful case examples throughout. Most important, the authors show how school leaders can transform negative and toxic cultures so that trust, commitment, and sense of unity can prevail.

Praise for Shaping School Culture

"For those seeking enduring change that is measured in generations rather than months, and to create a legacy rather than a headline, then Shaping School Culture is your guide."
—Dr. Douglas B. Reeves, founder, The Leadership and Learning Center, Englewood, CO

"Deal and Peterson combine exquisite language, vibrant stories, and sage advice to support school leaders in embracing the paradoxical nature of their work. A 'must read' for all school leaders."
—Pam Robbins, educational consultant and author

"Once again, the authors have presented practitioners, researchers, professional developers, school coaches, and others with a tremendous resource for renovating and reinvigorating schools."
—Karen M. Dyer, Ed.D., group director, Education and Nonprofit Sector Office, Center for CreativeLeadership, Greensboro, NC

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Leadership

278 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2009

Reviews

[Traci]

Required reading for my GCU class on school culture
I thoroughly enjoyed the class and felt Deal and Peterson provided great insight into culture and how to influence it.

[Maria]

The book is divided into two main themes which each have subtitles to discuss as chapter. The first is the Element of Culture that has eight chapters discuss culture, vision, myth, rituals and how each can be embedded in school culture.
The second is the Symbolic Role of School Leaders which is discussed in six chapters. The chapters move in gradual steps to reshape the school culture of seven schools. The author provided the readers with some ideas can be considered as opportunities in the future.
Moreover, the authors examined some of the parents' reflections on their children's school culture. I found the book very interesting and can be read or scanned easily. Besides, the ideas can be adapted to be applied in our schools and be used as opportunities for the future too. The book provided me with new perspectives towards reshaping out school culture.

[Jonathan Lothspeich]

I thought the first half of the book provided great criteria for assessing school culture & climate, though I can't say I was happy about the authors' continued insistence that schools need to be run more like businesses... isn't that what got us into the American public education crisis in the first place? They make good points with the examples they chose, but I think their philosophy's basis creates a circular logic. The second half of the book doesn't add much to the initial criteria and examples provided in section one and feels redundant.

[Sunshine Darby]

Excellent resource for school leaders wanting to create a positive school culture. This book has lots of examples making it easy to read.

[Samar]

A good book for those currently working in school leadership and who have had little opportunity for professional development in this area.