SUPREME SPECIAL: A HEALTHY SCHOOL CULTURE

Many schools tend to neglect their culture and put effort into less or irrelevant matters like increasing work load for staff and students, advertising, enforcing stricter rules of conduct and discipline. School culture is identified with the day to day management of any school with emphasis on policies, rules, regulations and conducts that applies to both staff and students. Management, rules, policies, regulation is an important part of any school, the school culture is seen as the complete "feel" of the school. (www.educationworld .com).

So for any school to provide healthy environment to work and learn, such school has to identify the key areas that will nurture a healthy learning environment and establish a strong culture that will be a motivator to the management, school community, students and staff. Below are some vital elements of a healthy school culture.

Leadership: An effective and efficient leadership is key to promoting a healthy school culture , the school manager ( Head teacher / principal) as the case may be plays the role of a Hero/ Heroine. How does he or she achieve this? By simply becoming role model of attitude and behavior for staff, students and even parents. By carrying out the core values for others to look up to and mimic.

Employees: Is another element of a healthy school culture when motivated. Employees refers to the staff in a school especially the teachers. They are also called instructors because they politely instruct students and parents on the importance of adopting and complying with the schools norms and values. This fosters a healthy Parents- Teachers, Students – Teachers , Students –Students relationship.

Rewarding Good Behavior: It means cultivating a lifestyle of rewarding individual achievements of students and staff .This can be made possible by organizing programs, festivals for the purpose of showcasing these achievements to a wider audience in the school environment.

Participation: Every one ( Managers, Staff, Parents and the community as the case maybe) should be given a platform to contribute meaningfully to achieving the set academic goals in order to establish a healthy school culture. Others are shared norms and values, Reinvention and balance.

According to Gordana.S.(2020),establishing and sustaining a healthy school culture does not come cheap in any form, even the most effective and efficient managers cannot get this done alone, hence it imperative that managers are fully supported by their employees to birth, nurture, maintain and sustain a healthy culture. 

Krystal IBHADE Tamunosiki

Krystal.taminosiki@gmail .com