School culture trumps great teaching, or it can.

When teachers try to teach the way they think is best, they do so while navigating the culture of the school and community where they work. What is considered excellent teaching is dependent on both the school culture and the dominant culture the students come from1.

Our personal set of values informs how we teach, and the set of values a school community values informs what they consider good teaching. Consequently, comparing your personal values to the lived (rather than the espoused 2) values of a school is a good way of figuring out whether you are a good fit for a school.

If you are an educator considering transitioning to a new school, here are some questions you can ask to see if your set of values will mesh well with the school’s culture.

  • What level of technology is expected in your teaching?
  • How much flexibility do educators have in selecting their curricular resources?
  • When one enters a classroom and everything is going smoothly, what does one see?
  • How does the school support students with behaviour?
  • What support exists at the school for students with special needs?
  • What supports exist for teachers?

The answer to these questions will speak to what the school values, and you can use the answers to help yourself determine if you are a good fit for the school culture.

  1. This is true because we do not yet have widespread agreement on what good teaching is. We lack a science of teaching like we have a science of medicine.
  2. I say lived instead of espoused because some values explicitly stated by a school may be aspirational, rather than in effect.