The article attempts to analyse the notions of school culture and school climate as well as their definitions, scopes and the applied research approaches. Although such activities have been undertaken and presented both in English and German literature, they have failed to constitute a separate field of analysis in Poland and as such, have been merely addressed on the margins of other problems. In this article, the author points out the positions of researchers who have identified the need to clarify the separate identity of the notions and for this purpose, to adopt appropriate research approaches, often leading, as the author attempts to illustrate, to diverse conclusions.

Is school culture able to reduce the negative influence of work stressors present in teacher’s work? The goal of the study presented in this paper was to test a hypothetical mechanism, according to which school’s culture moderates the links between stressors and teachers’ job engagement. Relying on job demandsresources theoretical model, in the investigation conducted on a large (N=449) sample of teachers we found that although indeed the exposition to stress in an everyday teachers’ work is negatively related to teachers’ engagement, school culture serves as a buffer that moderates the relationship between stress and engagement. Among the teachers who perceived their school culture as supportive, stress did not reduce their engagement, while this effect was find in less supportive schools.

This paper focuses on the connection between the principal’s behaviors and job satisfaction among teachers. The study was conducted on a sample of 74 five middle school teachers. It was found that: (1) middle school teachers perceived their principals as supportive rather than restrictive, (2) teachers are satisfied with their job in middle schools, (3) the principal’s supportive and directive behavior was positively correlated with job satisfaction, (4) the principal’s restrictive behavior was found not significantly correlated with job satisfaction and finally (5) the principal’s directive behavior was a significant predictor of job satisfaction among middle schools teachers.

Tekst jest komunikatem z badań przeprowadzonych wśród studentów pierwszego roku pedagogiki - absolwentów kształcenia średniego, należących do pokolenia sieci i aktywnie zanurzonych w mobilnej kulturze cyfrowej. Celem artykułu jest analiza procesu partycypacji technologii cyfrowych w procesie kształcenia. Autor stawia tezę, że technologie cyfrowe można traktować jako zasoby kulturowe, zatem kształtowanie umiejętności ich twórczego wykorzystania jest podstawą nowoczesnej edukacji. Opinie badanych studentów służą odpowiedzi na pytanie zawarte w temacie tekstu, czy i w jakim stopniu kultura szkoły towarzyszy i wzmacnia kulturę mobilną, przygotowując do świadomego i odpowiedzialnego funkcjonowania uczniów w świecie cyfrowym. Badania prowadzą do wniosku, iż młodzi dorośli jako użytkownicy mobilnych mediów w zdecydowanej większości wyrażają swoje rozczarowanie jakością edukacji medialnej w placówkach, których są absolwentami.

The text discusses the issue of rooting of a beginner teacher in the social and cultural space of the school. The article is intended to raise awareness about possible fields of tension in the school culture, which - as identified in the experience of teachers - may serve as a barrier for functioning of a novice at school. In the beginning I presented a short discussion of the essence of school culture, and pointed out to possible presentation of problems related to functioning of a beginner teacher in it. In this background I presented assumptions and results of my own studies devoted to looking for an own place in school culture by a novice. From the perspective of teachers, when referring to their opinions I presented what types of own experience may be identified in the process of participation in school life and what types of anchors are used by novices. The discussion develops the thesis that due to multiplicity and locality of school cultures, a novice cannot learn them during their academic education, but they may be transgressively open to the notion of difficult embedding into the social and cultural space of school. The data obtained show that the teachers try to understand their own experiences and juxtapose them with their limited knowledge about school life when they start their work. The results show that they are motivated to take transgressive actions, and actively look for reference sources to formulate the interpretation framework and define a situation which is new to them. This can be understood as an attempt to immerse in the social world of the school and become an inherent part of the school culture.

In the article, I focus on the elements of school’s culture, which is present in the narrative of the child’s student, embedding my reflections in the psychocultural approach to education (J.S. Bruner) and the Goffman’s model of total institutions. The collision of the child’s world, created by the culture of the family environment with the culture of the school, brings with it many tensions and imperatives for the constant reconstruction of meanings so far (un) present in his biographical experience. The analysis and interpretation of the child’s narrative interview in a constructivist approach has allowed to gather knowledge about patterns of behavior, prohibitions, precepts, expectations and values that the school culture overtly or covertly imposes on the child, socializing him/her into the role of a student. The cultural aspects taken up in the child’s narrative show what elements of the school’s cultural world represent opportunities and threats for the development of his or her identity and personality towards a sense of causality and values.

The article is focused on the analysis of the essence, purpose and meaning (sense) of evaluation and self-evaluation processes in the school environment. It is an attempt to analyse the pedagogical evaluation as both a specific theoretical problem and a long-term, systematic process by means of which the school is able to reflect and evaluate its work quality in a critical way, to initiate changes and thus to improve and upgrade its quality. The above idea is based on an assumption that the development of the good quality school depends on its concept as an open, co-operative and learning institution focused on educational, cultural and public awareness objectives; and the systematic reflecting, checking and evaluating of its objectives, progress and results form an integral part of its (internal) culture.

Though it is laborious to examine the culture of the school, researchers have been endeavouring to empirically apprehend it since the 1960’s. A variety of research jobs have been carried out, of various starting points, ways of materialisation, and conclusions. The present text indicates a way of classifying these studies according to the purposes they had been assigned. Though the list of examples is not entirely complete nor is the classification definite, a conclusion is clear and evident: in most cases, the culture of the school is not examined in order to grasp this culture itself. Much more often, the culture of the school is examined as a starting point, a pre-condition, or a tool to explore another object of the researcher’s interest outside the culture itself, such as the quality and evaluation of the school’s overall performance, the quality of the learning process, or the school’s developmental potential.

“Łejery” Theater – education through art on the example of the activities of Primary School No. 83. Emilia Waśniowska in Poznań (selected problems)

Primary School No. 83 Emilia Waśniowska in Poznań is known in Poland as “Łejery”. It is a unique institution in the country because, although it is a “systemic” school, it implements its educational programme through art, is based on selected assumptions of non-directive pedagogy, and the main educational means at the school is broadly understood theatre. The subject of the author’s study is to present the theatre operating at Primary School No. 83. “Łejery” in Poznań as a means of comprehensive education for children and young adolescents. The author, based on sources (websites, sources evoked – interviews with Jerzy Hamerski) and observations made from September 1 to December 22, 2023, as well as the literature on the subject, considers education at Primary School No. 83 in Poznań, presents the figure the founder of the Poznań “Łejery”, and analyses the ways of using theatre in the education process of children and youth attending the described school.

School culture is one of the indicators of school quality. Effective school leaders are continually working on changing the school, analyzing and examining why their school needs to become a better place for all students and employees. To change school culture it is very important to determine at what level it is, what elements representing it are satisfactory, and which elements are essential to be changed with the goal of improving them. The aim of this study was to determine indicators of school culture in primary schools and on this basis to determine its level. Indicators of school culture were viewed from the point of view of 562 teachers, assistants and other staff in primary schools. Through factor analysis seven indicators of school culture were distinguished in primary schools: encouraging joint work, evaluating employee achievement, teacher collegiality, principal-teacher feedback, learning partnership, colleagues’ compliments and personal involvement of teachers.

In this study, it was aimed to determine the school culture’s effect on job satisfaction based on primary school teachers’ perceptions. The sample of this study was composed of 291 teachers working in 10 primary schools located in Erzurum city center. The sample was chosen by means of the maximum variation method. The data for this study was gathered with the help of School Culture and Job Satisfaction Scales. In the data analysis, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Linear Regression analyses were used. The findings of this study revealed that there was a positive correlation between school culture and job satisfaction according to teachers’ perceptions. In addition, the school culture was statistically determined to be an important predictor variable of job satisfaction.