Crossing the gap : An examination of school ethos and its potential impact on citizenship

This project investigates the school ethos and its potential influence on the development of cultural identity and future active citizenship of the students. This is achieved through a focus on the assertion of causality between the expression of the espoused values stated in an ethos and the enacted values acquired by a student during their time at school.

The implementation of the National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools (DEST, 2005) provided an understanding of the importance of values education in constructing an Australian identity in schools. As the development of a unique school ethos is a fundamental principle in the Australian education system, schools have used specific values in relation to academic performance and behavioural attitudes as elements of developing this ethos to establish and develop a school culture, and to impact the holistic development of students. This is being shaped through the theory of values education, which is the central theory being used as an identifying tool throughout this study.

Schools have an obligation to ensure that students are able to understand and engage with their civic duties in their communities. The way schools shape this understanding is through the expression of the values in the ethos, which in turn is shaped by the philosophical underpinnings of the school. A constructivist, qualitative and phenomenological research model is used to investigate the lived experience of participants to assess their engagement in active citizenship education in relation to the expression of values within the school ethos. This engagement looks at the manner in which a school engages with the wider community and how the students perceive their role now and into the future as a citizen.

The lived experience of students and teachers from five schools of different philosophical orientations was analysed through semi-structured, in-depth interviews according to Hoffding and Martiny’s (2015) framework for the phenomenological interview. This project employed In-Vivo Coding, Process coding and Pattern coding from Saldana’s (2016) coding manual to recognise common thematic concerns in a diverse context. The key themes are the discussed through the framework of Van Manen’s (1997) existential themes, which examine the nature of the live experience and expose the notions of causality associated with values transmission. The findings that most influence values transmission are the language of an ethos, the processes and systems in place over time and the influential role of the teacher. The students’ view of themselves as a citizen in the present was an indicative understanding of the future involvement in the community and their professional lives.

The results of this study are intended to contribute to a deeper understanding of the potential power of a school ethos and also an understanding of the impact schools can have on the process of values transition in society.