Organizational culture can best be described as a collection of attitudes, beliefs, rituals, and relics that describe how the mission of the organization is achieved through internal resources (people and systems). My willingness to be an active participant in my learning journey is heavily dependent upon the psychological safety created by the culture of the school or organization.
White Noise is used to drown out other sounds particularly in open spaces. Organizational culture may too have this drowning out affect if it does not invite, listen, and respond to the many voices, particularly the student voice, as an active participant in their learning journey.
This presentation will offer examples and tips for creating, enforcing, and sustaining psychologically safe learning environments that evolve organizational culture that enhance the continuum of voice, including:
- Being mindful that the culture of the learning environment is equally as important as the curriculum.
- A student may be adapting to multiple, and often times competing, organization cultures simultaneously (home, school, social circles).
- Students, teachers, and parents have an active role in the culture created within the classroom.
- Identity, diversity, and lived experience influence my willingness to use my voice as an active participant on my learning journey.
NAGC Standards AddressedStandard 4: Learning Environments
Standard 6: Professional Development