Conceptions of School Culture: An Overview

Abstract

It is not clear what the term culture means in current discussion of school culture. Is it to refer globally to everything that happens routinely in schools, or are there more precise definitions that can be useful? This article reviews a range of definitions of culture. Three main conceptions of culture are discussed; a culture as bits of information, culture as conceptual structure and symbols, and culture as meanings generated in political struggle. Through examples and commentary the author considers the relative utility of the different conceptions of culture for helping one think about the diverse and systematically patterned ways of making sense that students, teachers, and administrators bring to their everyday encounters with one another in schools.

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