Journal of K-12 Educational Research 7 Table 1 (continued) Axiom Ratings Round 2 Round 3 Strong relationships among stakeholders at all levels are an indicator of strong school culture. Strongly Agree 66.7% 57.9% Agree 28.6% 36.8% Neutral 0% 0% Disagree 4.8% 5.3% Strongly Disagree 0% 0% Student buy-in to the mission of the school has a significant impact on school culture despite the efforts of other stakeholder groups. Strongly Agree 23.8% 26.3% Agree 71.4% 68.4% Neutral 4.8% 5.3% Disagree 0% 0% Strongly Disagree 0% 0% High admission standards should be maintained even if it means denying admission to otherwise qualified students who would not be a good fit for the school culture. Strongly Agree 38.1% 36.8% Agree 47.6% 47.4% Neutral 9.5% 15.8% Disagree 0% 0% Strongly Disagree 4.8% 0% Teachers can establish school culture naturally through their instruction and close interaction with or without buy-in to the mission of the school. Strongly Agree 9.5% 5.3% Agree 47.6% 52.6% Neutral 9.5% 15.8% Disagree 14.3% 15.8% Strongly Disagree 19 % 10.5% Scandal within the school is a significant threat to strong school culture. Strongly Agree 47.6% 57.9% Agree 33.3% 31.6% Neutral 14.3% 10.5% Disagree 4.8% 0% Strongly Disagree 0% 0% Note. Marginal percentage differences reflect the attrition of participants between rounds 2 and 3. Survey 2 Results Following the development of these axioms, participants were given the opportunity to verify or deny the veracity of each through a Likert scale survey ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” Consensus was achieved by administering the Round 2 survey in Round 3 without an appreciable change in results. Seven of the 10 axioms achieved appreciably similar results between Rounds 2 and 3 when adjusting for the attrition of two participants between those rounds and all axioms were affirmed. The results for each axiom are illustrated in Table 1. High admission standards should be maintained even if it means denying admission to otherwise qualified students who would not be a good fit for the school culture. Discussion, Implications, and Recommendations School culture is a dynamic construct that is malleable based on the factors that influence it. As a consequence of its malleable nature, school culture, even if strong, exists in a constant state of flux as a host of influences exert pressure in a variety of directions. Implications One ubiquitous feature in the literature defining school culture was the element of mission recognized by many
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