Identification and elucidation of culturally embedded school community expectations in a newly chartered urban school

Abstract

This case study is designed to increase the understanding of an organization's cultural impact on students' improved learning. While much literature exists on best practice strategies for student learning, less is known about what influences are embedded in a school's culture that improve student learning (Angel, Christensen & Hill, 2006; Finn, Manno & Vanourek, 2000). Even less is known about what influences improve learning in charter schools due to the variety of design, systems, programs, and student body and teacher populations; therefore, more studies are warranted that isolate variables to learn more about what is successful and not (Angel, Christensen & Hill, 2006, CREDO, 2009; Nelson, Rosenberg & Van Meter, 2004). The lens used to conduct this mixed methods descriptive case study is organizational culture, called macroculture by Schein (2010). The education system as a whole then narrows to a school culture, or microculture, said Schein (2012). Then, theories incorporating expectancy-value/ motivation and accountability/ responsibility will be explored as concepts to support the school culture of this particular case study school (Bandura, 1993, 2001; Chen, et.al., 2009; Woolfolk, 2007; Meece, Pintrich & Schunk, 2008). For these reasons, this study is significant in that it will add to the literature about how school culture impacts student learning.