Invitational Education
In Dr. Duncan’s comments about Culture vs Climate (found right here) she references an observation from a student in class that revealed the non-inviting environment of the school. It was a real turn off for the parents.
Did you know there is an entire organization devoted to Invitational Education? I read the book with the same name by William Purkey when I was a principal and it forever changed the way I viewed our school. Purkey provided lists of things that custodians, nurses, secretaries, bus drivers, teachers and administrators could do to be “inviting.” The basic premise is that no one makes a break through in their personal lives unless they were invited to do so.
What types of things do you find inviting about your child’s school?
What type of things are non-inviting and in fact turn parents and patrons off?
I am very interested in this topic. In my Masters program, I learned a lot about campus culture, campus climate and campus connections and how those three things impact the likelihood of a student dropping out or persisting until graduation. I am actually thinking about exploring this topic more in depth for my dissertation.
The school my children attend is very small, so all the staff members – from principal to custodian – know all of the students. That makes the atmosphere feel safe, warm and inviting. There is a strong expectation that everyone on that campus will treat everyone else with respect. It is just a very loving environment, but with high expectations.
Thank you for sharing, Julie. Small schools can foster those positive relationships among all community members and also build leadership… in a small school everyone has to take a lead role on something!
Have you thought of a research question for your dissertation yet?
Heather
I too researched the inviting school during my master’s through Grand Canyon University. My action research project was centered around Dr. Purkey’s work and I had a few phone conversations with him about my research. He has some great tools for one to evaluate their school environment. It was a very useful and entertaining topic to reserach. Yea, to inviting schools!