The Suitability of Culture
Culture at the organisational level is now a well-recognised and increasingly studied concept in school leadership and management (Bolman & Deal 1992; Duke 1996). Culture at the societal level, however, has not received similar attention. Since culture is reflected in all aspects of school life, and people, organisations and societies share differences and similarities in terms of their cultures, it appears a particularly useful concept with universal application, one appropriate for comparing influences and practices endemic to educational leadership and management.
Since culture exists at multiple levels (school and sub-school, local, regional and
societal) it provides researchers with rich opportunities for exploring their interrela- tionships, such as between schools and their micro-and macro-environments. It also helps identify characteristics across organisations that have surface similarity but are quite different in modus operandi. For example, schools across different societies look to have similar, formal leadership hierarchies, but these often disguise subtle differ- ences in values, relationships and processes below the surface
Most cross-national studies of educational leadership have ignored the analyti- cal properties of culture. Such neglect has been challenged recently by researchers such as Cheng (1995), who assert that, ‘the cultural element is not only necessary, but essential in the study of educational administration’ (99). Specifically, Cheng bemoans the fact that much research in educational administration ignores culture and makes no reference to larger macro-societal, or national cultural configurations. The concept of national culture has not been rigorously applied as a basis for comparison in educational leadership, or as a means for comparing the
organisation of individual schools. Neither has culture at the organisational level been developed as a foundation for comparative analysis; rather, it has been applied to areas such as school effectiveness and organisational analysis.