Transforming School Culture  

Leading the Four Types of Teachers and Creating a Positive School Culture

Transforming School Culture provides a school improvement plan for leaders to overcome staff division, improve relationships, and transform toxic school cultures into healthy ones. Dr. Anthony Muhammad contends that in order to transform school culture, we must understand why teachers continue to hold on to models or beliefs contrary to those put forth by their school or district. He explores the human behavior, social conditions, and history that cause the underlying conflict among the four different types of teachers in a school. The second edition of this best-selling resource delivers powerful new insight into the four types of educators—Believers, Fundamentalists, Tweeners, and Survivors—and how school leaders can work with each group to create positive school culture. The book also includes Dr. Muhammad’s latest research as well as a new chapter dedicated to answering frequently asked questions on culture and school leadership in education.

How this new edition will help you create a positive school culture:

• Study the author’s research and observations of 34 schools—11 elementary schools, 14 middle schools, and 9 high schools—and how each school’s staff supported or hindered student achievement.
• Consider the characteristics of positive school cultures and how your school’s culture and climate may differ.
• Learn how laws such as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) impact teachers and school culture.
• Understand why teachers must work together to improve student performance.
• Obtain tips for creating a positive school culture and producing synergy.

New in This Second Edition:

• An updated research base, including more than 60 new references
• Connections to ESSA as well as reflections on NCLB’s impact on education
• Additional insights into the four types of educators
• Further guidance on what it takes to be a transformational leader and redirect Fundamentalists through communication, trust, capacity, and accountability
• A new chapter of frequently asked questions in regard to school culture, leadership, and the four types of educators

Related Topics

Leadership Professional Learning Communities at Work® Professional Learning Communities School Improvement

“This new edition of Transforming School Culture provides a rich and insightful set of ideas, strategies, and concepts that will help any school leader transform their cultures. It should be on everyone’s bookshelf. This is a book to be read more than once, for hidden gems of ideas and strategies can be found throughout.”

“Historically, schools have been bombarded by efforts designed to improve the system in place. These efforts are usually disguised as a new project or program. They usually fail! Teachers see them as a storm that will blow through, rather than a long-term and fundamental climatic change. Anthony Muhammad, in Transforming School Culture, Second Edition, has not only shined a light on why such change efforts rarely work―due to ignoring a school’s culture―but has gone on to describe how school leaders can and should address sustainable cultural change. A must-read!”

“As we’ve come to expect, Dr. Muhammad is unflinchingly unapologetic regarding the hard truths of school culture. But, once again, he separates himself from so many who take the stage, admire the problems, and offer no solutions. Dr. Muhammad both diagnoses and prescribes. No magic bullet or easy fix, but hope in the form of choices that will shift our paradigms and create transformational results. As he did with the first edition, this second edition of Transforming School Culture awakens you, demands your attention, and then hits you where you live.”

“The second time around is better than the first. Dr. Muhammad has done it again by reminding us in powerful, impactful ways that a positive school culture is where any type of school success starts. As someone who works with districts across the country in being culturally responsive, I believe this book provokes thought, reflection, and action for the adults to be better, so the students can be their best.”

“This is the guidebook you need.”

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   The Roots Collection