1. School Culture

School culture plays a significant and direct role in learning. It enables an effective learning environment by ensuring that students are actively motivated to learn with attention and enthusiasm, kept engaged and excited, and encouraged to develop attitudes of curiosity and wonders that are important for learning. In addition to having a positive impact on learning, school culture is one of the biggest influences on the development of values and dispositions amongst students, which are important Curricular Goals.

Hence, school culture must be systematically shaped towards achieving the desired goals. NEP 2020 states:

All participants in the school education system, including Teachers, Principals, administrators, counsellors, and students, will be sensitised to the requirements of all students, the notions of inclusion and equity, and the respect, dignity, and privacy of all persons. Such an educational culture will provide the best pathway to help students become empowered individuals who, in turn, will enable society to transform into one that is responsible towards its most vulnerable citizens.

[NEP, 6.19]

School culture must be a carefully integrated dimension of the curriculum, which will play a significant role in developing the values and dispositions that this NCF aims for. It must also enable a deeply engaging and active environment for the students, enabling learning in all its dimensions.

There are other aspects, such as the engagement and motivation of Teachers and the involvement of the community, that directly affect students’ learning. While these are important, they are not taken up in detail in this NCF.

Section 1.1 - What is School Culture?

School culture has two aspects. The first is values, norms, and beliefs — which form the school culture; and the second is behaviours, relationships, and practices — in which the culture is manifested and experienced.

The elements that form the culture and its manifestation are deeply interrelated, but it is important to distinguish between these two aspects, because students learn from the manifestations. It is these manifestations and, thus, the experience of the students that must systematically enable the achievement of Curricular Goals.

We see these manifestations or constituent elements of the experience of culture can be seen in three categories:

a. Relationships: This refers to how the school’s staff members, students, and other stakeholders relate and work with each other. For example, Teachers listening to students patiently and showing concern about their physical and emotional well-being, collaborating with other Teachers to provide a more wholesome experience for students, and welcoming parents’ participation in the learning process demonstrate the culture of the school.

b. Symbols: These are about what is considered worth displaying and celebrating in schools. For example, there are various kinds of visual displays that we find in schools, displayed or written on school walls, and the pictures and paintings in the school corridor, which communicate what is valued by the school or the students lauded in the school assembly for specific actions.

c. Arrangements and Practices: These are arrangements related to various classroom and school processes that signal the kind of culture the school has already established or aims to achieve. An example of an arrangement is seating, and an example of practice is how age groups or genders are distributed in sports or housekeeping activities. Schools must fully utilise the potential and impact of such culture-related aspects of organising daily life, enabling valuable opportunities for making full educational use of learning spaces and possibilities, not limited to classroom teaching.

Section 1.2 - School Culture and its Impact on Learning

School culture contributes to student learning in two ways:

a. By creating a safe, encouraging, and nurturing learning environment which is necessary for all kinds of learning engagements that are organised at school.

b. By directly contributing to the attainment of Curricular Goals through the development of desirable values and dispositions as discussed in Part A, Chapter 1, §1.3.1 of this NCF.

1.2.1 Developing an Enabling Learning Environment

The learning environment of a school can be characterised either by constraint, compliance, and control, or it could be an atmosphere that enables individuals by instilling trust and self-discipline, inspiring them to stretch their perceived limits and achieve their goals. In reality, this may be a continuum and not an ‘either/or’ situation, however the basic ‘tone’ does convey which side of the continuum the school desires to be.

An inclusive and nurturing culture forms the bedrock on which all school activities and pedagogical practices rest, grow, and succeed. Mutual respect, a non-threatening environment, and healthy relationships among students and Teachers are essential for dialogue and collaboration. Without these, learning become tedious for everyone involved. Along with a vibrant and caring environment, acting responsibly and demanding rigour in learning are equally important characteristics of a school environment that contribute to achieving Curricular Goals.

The table below maps the key characteristics of such an enabling learning environment and some constituent elements of school culture that contribute to achieving them. We can see that these elements are relationships, symbols, arrangements, and practices.

1.2.2 Development of Values and Dispositions

a. Need for systematic and deliberate effort

Students derive their values and dispositions from two main sources — their family and community, and their school. In both these spheres of their lives, the quality of relationships, symbols, arrangements, and practices (which are the constitutive experienced elements of culture) determines what they imbibe and how they behave in these spaces.

The School Principal and Teachers often tend to stay with what they inherit as the prevailing school culture and processes, and their own values and dispositions. While Principals tend to focus their energy on administrative compliances, most Teachers remain confined to the demands of syllabus completion, and the focussed work of developing values remains poorly attended. As an outcome, schools may miss developing desirable values and dispositions, and may also end up inadvertently (or, in some cases, advertently) reinforcing various kinds of discriminatory social practices related to caste, gender, class, religion, region (migration, language), disabilities, physical appearance, perceived talent (smart versus weak students), and more.

Systematic and deliberate efforts are needed for the development of values and dispositions. The approach to this must be comprehensive and done with all seriousness very much like the efforts needed for the teaching of subjects.

b. Values and dispositions articulated as goals in NEP 2020

NEP 2020 gives us a comprehensive list of values that need to be fostered through schooling. All these values are individually meaningful and important. However, because of certain common core characteristics and similarities, the values can be clustered together. The table below list these clusters of values and dispositions and also provides some constituent elements of school culture that will enable their development.

The following sections detail the constituent elements — as relationships, symbols, arrangements, and practices — of a school culture that can lead to these outcomes.

Working through Challenges Building a school culture that reflects the practices discussed in this section is likely to face a lot of internal and external challenges. Internally, the challenge may come from the staff and students when their beliefs and behaviour do not align with what is being proposed here. Similarly, the prevailing cultural practices in families and society may conflict with what is being attempted here. For example, it would be challenging for a school to inculcate the practice of gender equity when there are strong beliefs enabling gender discrimination at home or in the local community. These kinds of challenges and conflicts are often inevitable but surpassable in the journey of establishing desired school culture. A tenacious and steadfast engagement with these challenges would be required to see long-lasting changes.

Section 1.3 - Constituent Elements of School Culture

*1.3.1 Relationships *

Relationships are, in this context, those that exist in a school, the essential expectations in them, and how these expectations are fulfilled responsibly. While at the core of school culture is the ‘Teacher-student’ relationship, the quality of student-student, Teacher-principal, and parent/Teacher/Principal relationships too have a direct or indirect bearing on student learning. The following are core characteristics of strong and inspiring relationships that a school needs to develop:

a. Mutual trust and respect b. Openness, communication, and collaboration c. Care d. Responsibility

These core characteristics are seen in the context of school and learning. These are interrelated and not water-tight categories. When you trust someone, you are open to sharing and collaborating. Similarly, a sense of responsibility naturally leads to caring for others.

1.3.1.1 Mutual Trust and Respect

Trust and respect are fundamental to all relationships. Trust in this context, refers to the basic belief in the human capacity to learn and the intent to exercise that capacity to pursue worthwhile goals. By respect, we mean recognising and valuing an individual’s presence, views, identity, and fundamental rights bestowed by the Indian Constitution.

In Teacher-student relationships, Teachers must openly show that they trust the capability of students and that they can all learn. They respond appropriately to every student’s pace of learning and make efforts to understand them as individuals and their backgrounds. Teachers foster good relationships by helping students feel a connection with the whole school community while building an identity and space for themselves, and by listening to students patiently and caring about their physical and emotional well-being. Students will feel respected when Teachers give them time and space to share their feelings, views, and work.

For enriching student-student relationships, conscious efforts must be made to create opportunities for students to work collaboratively with peers from different socio-cultural and economic backgrounds, age groups, genders, and abilities. From an early age, students need to be encouraged to speak politely, pay attention to one another, and demonstrate care and helpfulness at any given opportunity.

The respect and status that Teachers once enjoyed as Gurus need to be restored. In Teacher/Principal/administration relationship, trust and respect are critical for sustaining motivation, commitment, and collaboration. It is done by providing good working conditions, i.e., having formal and informal ways of listening to Teachers’ views and experiences, including them in decision making, giving them space to exercise their professional expertise within the larger National Curriculum Framework for School Education National Curriculum Framework for School Education policy guidelines, and appreciating their hard work. Another important aspect is the Teacher-Teacher relationship. All Teachers from diverse backgrounds, genders, age groups, and experiences must be respected and supported by other Teachers. They need to be provided opportunities to learn from each other and to work collaboratively. Apart from academic sharing, Teachers also need the opportunity to rejuvenate themselves — this could be purposively planned, be it engaging in sports and cultural activities or having some celebrations or excursions.

Schools need to build trust and respect in their relationship with parents and their wider community. Parents need to feel comfortable in approaching School Principals and Teachers. When the school reaches out to them, welcomes them, gives them regular updates, consults them on relevant matters, and tries to use their knowledge and expertise, parents feel valued and respected. Schools must work towards the community feeling a sense of constructive and positive ‘ownership’ of the school.

*1.3.1.2 Openness, Communication, and Collaboration *

Openness, communication, and collaboration are characteristics of healthy relationships. When there is trust and respect in any relationship, people become open to sharing and listening to one another empathetically. They are then more than ready to engage in collective tasks because they derive pleasure and strength from cooperative working together. Here are a few ways in which schools can enable these qualities in their members:

a. There should be spaces for open conversations such as circle time in classes and daily diary sharing in school assemblies, as well as encouragement for reaching out to Teachers and School Principals for honest sharing.

b. Many opportunities must be created for Teachers and students to work together. This helps them strengthen mutual trust and respect for each other. This will also help them reflect on their own conditioning and to build interpersonal skills.

c. Art, Music, Drama, and Sports naturally provide opportunities where we need to work in groups. So, finding space for these subjects in the school timetable is necessary. Such creative and collaborative time is also required for Teachers.

d. It is very likely that with greater openness and communication, and working together, differences and conflicts will become more easily expressed and known. This should be seen as an opportunity rather than an impediment to understanding and working with differences collectively. Some individual differences may get resolved, some may take longer, while a few may seem very challenging to resolve, but all this should not dampen the spirit and come in the way of continuing to work collaboratively on tasks that matter for the advancement of the school.

All collaboration must be directed towards the ‘pursuit of excellence’. Students should be encouraged to set high expectations for themselves and be supported in their hard work to achieve their goals.

Relationships often get tested when faced with a situation where classmates or schoolmates engage in a competition with each other, be it in sports or some other type of competition, such as debates, essay writing, or olympiads for Maths and Science. School cultures should help students strive hard to excel in their pursuits and, at the same time, teach sportspersonship and sportiveness, and how to deal with both success and failure gracefully. One can compete without compromising values of cooperation, empathy, resilience, appreciation of effort, and excellence. The feeling of ‘Mudita’ (rejoicing in the achievement or success of others) can also be developed this way.

1.3.1.3 Care

Care is an essential expression of nurturing relationships when one feels related to and responsible for the other. Typically, caring means acknowledging the presence of others in simple ways through smiling, greeting, mindfully sharing the space with others, and voicing one’s views and suggestions honestly. When we care for others, we make efforts to get to know them better as individuals with their strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, and gather some sense of what they have been through in life. All this is important information that help individuals live and work together with care for other people.

The need for caring is truly felt when an individual is undergoing difficult times, i.e., when one is feeling unwell, facing challenges in their personal life, or going through challenging emotions for some reason. This is when others need to extend support in ways that give strength and help the person cope and be well through that situation.

Care is what people remember — both timely expression of it, as well as not having it when it was needed. The timely expression of care goes a long way towards nurturing relationships.

1.3.1.4 Responsibility

A relationship will be challenging to sustain if the related parties do not act responsibly towards each other. In the context of school-based relationships, behaving responsibly means following the agreed upon rules and regulations of the school, not acting in ways that hurt others, and working towards completing one’s tasks for achieving one’s goals. This applies to all who are part of the school community. Students paying attention, following instructions, asking questions, expressing their thoughts and doubts, working cooperatively in groups, working hard, completing tasks, supporting their peers, practising consistently, and applying what they have learnt to real-life situations are what acting responsibly would mean in the student-Teacher relationship.

Similarly, for Teachers, making efforts to know individual students and their levels of learning, listening to them, planning for effective and engaging ways of teaching, giving appropriate learning challenges and supporting them, and assessing the progress of their learning to make necessary changes in teaching is acting responsibly.

Ultimately, acting responsibly is about every role that an individual has in life. Students learning responsibility as integral to all roles in life is best achieved through observation of behaviour of adults around them.

1.3.2 Symbols

Schools try to communicate a lot through the use of symbols. A symbol is any form of visual sign — writing on the wall, paintings, idols, or arrangements of physical objects — that conveys what the school values as important. Such symbols may not only be displays, but also the kind of things celebrated or recognised as valuable in other ways. In some schools, one comes across this phrase, ‘Shiksharth aaiye, Sewarth jaiye’ (Come to learn, go to serve), right at the entry gate. This is a daily reminder to students about why they are coming to school and what they are expected to do with their learning.

Here are a few more symbolic displays that we generally come across in schools:

a. Schools display hoardings and boards to emphasise what they feel is valuable about the school. It could be pictures of students who secured top ranks in Board examinations or different facilities the school provides. It could be about having smart classes or providing coaching in different sports.

b. There are lots of ‘sayings’ or ‘quotes’ written on school walls.

c. One may also find pictures of important and famous people and even idols representing certain religions either in Principals’ rooms, staff rooms, classrooms, or school corridors.

d. The choices and arrangements of physical objects also carry huge symbolic value. Principals’ chairs often look very different from chairs for the staff. A school may choose not to provide chairs for Teachers in classrooms so that they must remain standing and move about the classroom, keeping themselves busy. The arrangement of furniture in classrooms also communicates the school’s beliefs about teaching-learning processes.

e. Some schools paint entire walls with pictures, while others use display boards where student work is presented.

f. The kind of achievement or behaviour celebrated in the assembly or praised in public. Schools need to consciously and carefully decide how to effectively use the power of symbols and celebration. They must be in alignment with the values that schools are fostering. They will have to be inclusive, give space to a diversity of good ideas, and allow all students to contribute and learn from them.

Here are some good practices in this regard:

a. Instead of having permanent ‘sayings’ or ‘quotes’ on the walls, a better way would be to have a dedicated space for ‘Thought of the day’ and students could take responsibility for writing that on a small whiteboard. This can become a practice of inclusion in itself, as not only interesting thoughts by established, well-known personalities may be written, but also valuable sayings from lesser-known individuals belonging to different communities can be displayed. This can be used as an occasion to talk about the values these people held important and lived their lives by.

b. There could also be dedicated spaces for exhibiting artefacts representing local, regional, and national cultural heritage. Here, again, refraining from having permanent displays will help student learning. These could be a display of group project work too and they can remain there for a month. All students can be expected to read it and a quiz or sharing session in the school assembly based on that display would make for enjoyable learning.

c. School corridors can have display boards where each class can display what they are learning, so others get a good sense of classroom work just by taking a walk around the school. Selection of student work for display will be crucial and one need not select the ‘perfect’ looking or more visually appealing work. Display of work done by all students showing varied levels of capacity is far better as it fosters a sense of dignity for all levels of sincere work.

d. Schools may also name some rooms or halls, even classes or buildings, with the names of renowned personalities, rivers, and constellations. There may be names given to student houses in larger schools. These should also reflect the diversity of our country. National Curriculum Framework for School Education National Curriculum Framework for School Education

e. School uniforms also have symbolic value. The colour, as well as the kind of clothing chosen, communicates to the world the beliefs of the school. One may opt for a more traditional, modern, or gender-neutral uniform. Consideration of local climate, safety, easy availability, and cost-effectiveness will reflect the school’s sensitivity.

f. There could be a permanent notice board in each school where some school-related information for visitors and some important phone numbers (such as child helpline, hospital, school helpdesk), and key behavioural expectations from all on campus can be displayed.

g. There could be a thoughtfully constructed list of matters that should be highlighted in the assembly and recognised.

h. Sometimes, schools practise symbolic representation of hierarchy in unnecessary ways. For example, there may be a different cup/mug in which the Principal is served tea. Such practices need to be avoided as they go against the values a school must foster.

1.3.3 Arrangements and Practices

All schools require the help of certain classroom-level and school-level processes to function well. All school processes require arrangements and practices. For example, the Mid-day Meal (MDM) is an important daily process in public elementary schools. To run the Mid-day Meal smoothly, arrangements for procurements have to be made, and a plan for cooking and serving is necessary. Schools have to organise menu preparation, quality checks, serving of food, and proper utilisation of food waste. The nature of these arrangements and practices reflects inherent attitudes and fosters the beliefs and values (about care, nutrition, and people’s participation) of a school as well as of the education system.

In this section, arrangements and practices around major school processes such as classroom processes, school assembly, mealtime, sports activities, and engagement with parents and community have been taken up. There are other processes too, but the ones selected here are the key processes found in all schools. Matters of school processes are dealt with more exhaustively — beyond the arrangements and practices which constitute school culture — in the subsequent chapter.

1.3.3.1 Classroom Practices

Different classroom practices, directly and indirectly, promote different values.

Seating Arrangement: If all students always sit facing the blackboard in the classes, it conveys a perception that the primary source of learning is the blackboard and the Teacher. A circular, semi-circular, or small group seating arrangement from time to time allows for different learning experiences, as students can interact with their peers and work collaboratively. If there is a practice of placing students who are considered smart and enthusiastic in the front rows and others get seated at the back of the classroom, then this practice in itself will reinforce how learning happens in a group and who learns and who does not. Separate seating for boys and girls, and students sitting on the floor on mats while the Teacher is always on a chair, and other such arrangements that have the potential to establish unnecessary differences and hierarchies can easily be avoided with alternative arrangements.

Availability and accessibility of TLMs: A classroom can be filled with rich learning possibilities with interesting educational material on the walls and in open racks collected over time. These can be made accessible by planning for their use in the schedule of learning activities for the class. When there is sufficient relevant material and students can make use of it, they are engaged meaningfully at different levels. This would make the learning in the class lively and more vibrant. Having a ‘reading corner’ with a collection of books that are suitable for the learning levels and age groups of the students would encourage a culture of reading. Such practices clearly show the school’s commitment to ensuring learning for all.

Giving ownership and responsibility to students in the learning process: A classroom culture where students are wholly dependent on the Teacher’s instructions and reluctant to take initiative makes for a spiritless class. On the other hand, students actively taking charge of their learning process makes for spirited and vibrant learning. Students can be involved in preparing TLMs, displaying them on the walls, maintaining their own progress portfolio file, leading peer learning sessions, and even being asked to do short teaching sessions under the guidance of Teachers.

Cleanliness: The cleanliness and tidiness of the classroom can be the responsibility of students. Before closing the day, the classroom can be cleaned and made tidy again for the next day.

Learning rituals: There can be certain educational rituals that are followed during classroom processes. Different Teachers may initiate and sustain different class preparation or learning rituals which can make these different classes diverse learning experiences. One Teacher may make the whole atmosphere relaxed but focussed, while another may make it tense and intimidating. For example, some Teachers start by having an informal chat and listening to what students would like to share before moving on to their teaching plan, while another Teacher may just expect all those who could not do their homework to stand up and give an explanation. Movements, speaking, interactions, praise or scolding, and expressing happiness and concern all may take forms that either prove detrimental or add richness and joy to the learning process.

1.3.3.2 School Assembly

A lot can be achieved in the culture of the school through assemblies if this space is utilised effectively and creatively. Different groups of students can take the lead in organising small group or whole school assemblies under the guidance of Teachers. It could be a forum where not only the home language, but also the whole range of language diversity in India can be given importance. Students can be encouraged to give presentations, sing songs, and perform skits in several languages. Even if students learn to sing one song from a part of India other than their own, they feel some familiarity and connectedness. If there is enough space available, the whole group could dance to diverse forms of music selected from different parts of India.

On important days, Teachers and students can talk about different people or events that make that day memorable. Real stories of courage and resilience, nishkam karma and seva can be narrated. Opportunities for sharing what students are learning in various subjects, ranging from their library class to activities at home, may be created. Students would be motivated to pay attention to display boards if there are a set of quizzes on them in the school hallway. Roleplays and skits can be performed on various social issues to sensitise students, and these can serve as springboards for discussion on current issues faced by our society and nation.

The duration of the assembly, seating arrangement, anchoring responsibility, proper communication on what will be done each day of the week, use of musical instruments and a sound system, and preparation for the assembly all need to be paid close attention to from a cultural perspective. For example, it would be difficult to have the whole assembly standing. Asking students to sit in class-wise lines may not be needed, as mingling with other students can be allowed. Even younger students can shoulder anchoring responsibility with seniors.

1.3.3.3 Mealtime

The quality of the food served at mealtimes, seating arrangements, and serving practices are all important cultural aspects that help members feel satisfied with the food that they partake in. Students from various socio-cultural backgrounds must sit and enjoy the meal together. For many students, this may be the only proper meal that they get during the day, so schools must pay the required attention to its preparation and nutritional value. Teachers need to check the quality of the meal as well as participate in serving it and eating with the students. This will open opportunities for them to observe students’ eating habits and have a dialogue with them afterwards to positively impact them. Good hygiene standards have to be maintained, and groups of students and Teachers can take up the responsibility of washing their own plates and checking for the cleanliness of utensils.

1.3.3.4 Distribution of work

Students and Teachers are engaged in the work of the school in other ways too. For example, arranging the Mid-day Meal, cleaning the school, preparing for the school day. All such work must be allocated and managed very thoughtfully. It must be inclusive and non-discriminatory from every perspective. It must not feed into some standard prejudices or stereotypes, such as ‘Only girls should do food-related work’ or ‘Working involving physical labour is better done by children from specific communities’.

Distribution and management of schoolwork is wonderful opportunity to build multiple values and capacities, including a value for work and discipline, importance of teamwork and collaboration, a sense of equity and fairness, the sense of responsibility, and good work ethic, among others.

1.3.3.5 Sports Activities

Regular sports activities (for class groups and the whole school) in the weekly timetable are extremely important to ensure physical and psychological fitness and cheer in students. The setting of the playground and the group dynamics among students during sports are usually very different from the classroom context. Many students may be far more skilled on the field than they are in the classroom, and these students can be encouraged to support Teachers in conducting a particular sport for other student groups. This will not only enable these students to feel appreciated and gain confidence, but also inculcate a participatory culture in sports.

Schools must not let go of the opportunity a playground offers for building student-student and student-Teacher relationships and teaching cooperation, teamwork, courage, and resilience. Students of all genders should be encouraged to play all sports. There could be specially designed games or modified rules for regular games to allow the inclusion and equal participation of students with disabilities. Students can be motivated to keep trying, even if things get hard, to improve their skills such as speed and accuracy on the field based on their previous performances. Students can set their own goals to work towards, and Teachers can also guide them to set the next level of goals to challenge themselves and grow.

1.3.3.6 Engaging with Parents, Family, and the Community

The culture of a school is reflected in the way it welcomes and engages with parents/family, the community, and other visitors. Irrespective of the parents’/family backgrounds, attitudes, and dispositions, schools need to make them feel welcome and comfortable. There should be clear communication with parents/family about when they can visit the school. They should be warmly treated and attended to. Parents/families want to know what their children are learning, so the sharing from the Teachers’ side cannot be just about the academic challenges and struggles, but a much more holistic report about students’ overall education at school. The reception area or the school premises should have displays that reflect the kind of work happening in the school. Educational and fun activities and games designed for the active engagement of parents will ensure they have a memorable time visiting the school. They can also be invited to share their experience and knowledge with students as part of the curricular plan. Regular home visits by Teachers would go a long way in building this parent-Teacher relationship.

Schools cannot limit themselves to engaging with the parents of their students only. The larger community from which students come needs to be engaged through invitations to the annual day and other school functions. Members of the school, must also participate in the local events of the neighbouring community as much as possible.

Inclusion and Participation The principle of inclusion and participation for all has to be the core consideration across all elements of school culture. School processes must be designed for the participation and benefit of all members of the school from all walks of life. These processes have the potential to help every student and staff member experience a sense of belonging and a feeling of togetherness. Teachers must be alerted to see if any student is being or feeling excluded (in the classroom or in informal settings during breaks, playtime, or mealtimes). Teachers also need to ensure that students belonging to different genders, socio-economic groups, and with differential abilities interact with one another without resistance or hesitation and develop meaningful bonds. Acts of discrimination and exclusion, either consciously or inadvertently practised by Teachers, could take many forms. These often stem from the belief that some students cannot learn because of their background or ability and are labelled discriminatorily. There need to be forums for discussion and other such processes that help the Teachers become aware of their own biases and stereotypes and how these get reinforced in their classroom practices. School teams need to assess and not merely assume if their approaches and methods are inclusive. This can be done by frequently holding discussions with students after the learning activities about how they felt while participating and if they felt comfortable and experienced fairness. Such discussions can provide a space for all students to express the difficulties they experience and draw support from others. This also generates love, empathy, and care for all.