1 Valuing the importance of school culture

„What touches us transforms us.“

Carl Gustav Jung

By the time a pupil is 18 years old, he or she has spent between 11,500 and 17,000 hours in school. We can therefore assume that the culture that is present in the respective school influences the personality development of its pupils - consciously or unconsciously. So it does with their values.

Values give our lives stability, orientation and meaning. According to the European Heart concept, the level of values comes into play when it comes to developing a strategy.

 

 Figure 1: How values influence the chosen strategy (Susanne Linde, 2023)

So, if the school wants to help its pupils to become responsible citizens, it is important to think about the values that are conveyed to them, directly or indirectly.

As soon as you enter a school building, there are visible signs of what is important to this community, which facts and attitudes are given special value, be it trophies for sporting victories or certificates for civic engagement. Within the school, this attitude is also expressed as school culture through special events, festive days or through language. On closer observation, it can also be seen how much importance is attached to democratic cooperation, respectful treatment of all and participation in school life for all.

A common consensus on school values, an appreciative school culture, opportunities for participation and teachers' awareness of their role model effect positively on the values of democracy and human rights (Schubarth et al., 2017). In the living space of school, the rules of living together in a larger group are acquired, and the need for social belonging is also fulfilled. Work organisation, practice in democratic procedures, shared responsibility and negotiation processes in social contexts are taken into account in this context, as are the basic needs for security, relationships, recognition and self-fulfilment. Therefore, living together in school must be consciously designed as a field of experience and a community task.

We believe that there must also be opportunities for emotional learning in our schools for young people. We must not forget that emotions strongly influence both action and thinking. This can teach them other values in addition to performance, such as cooperation or commitment to other people