Научная статья на тему 'The teacher’s role in students’ organizational culture formation'

The teacher’s role in students’ organizational culture formation Текст научной статьи по специальности «Науки об образовании»

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Ключевые слова
HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM / ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE / FUNCTION OF CULTURE / TEACHER'S ROLE / СИСТЕМА ВЫСШЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ / ОРГАНИЗАЦИОННАЯ КУЛЬТУРА / ФУНКЦИЯ КУЛЬТУРЫ / РОЛЬ УЧИТЕЛЯ

Аннотация научной статьи по наукам об образовании, автор научной работы — Karpenko Olga Aleksandrovna

Variety of changes in present higher education strongly influences the role of a teacher. In this situation teachers have to deal with new roles and new approaches to organizational culture in higher education establishments. Teachers should educate students in terms of organizational culture which deals with the future generation problems. The article discusses the interaction between the organizational culture of students and teachers. Furthermore, the paper pays particular attention to the main feature of the organizational culture and its role in the educational process. However characteristics of the teacher of the XXI century are stated in the article. This role is particularly significant and requires much responsibility. In conclusion, some suggestions are provided so that education institutions and administrations can successfully support the formation of organizational culture among students.

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Текст научной работы на тему «The teacher’s role in students’ organizational culture formation»

УДК 378.1

ББК Ч448.04 ГСНТИ 14.15.07 Код ВАК 13.00.08

Karpenko Olga Aleksandrovna,

post-graduate student of department of theory and technology of social work, Samara University; 443011, Samara, St. A. Pavlova 1; e-mail : olga29101991@yandex.ru

THE TEACHER'S ROLE IN STUDENTS' ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE FORMATION

KEYWORDS: higher education system; organizational culture; function of culture; teacher's role.

ABSTRACT. Variety of changes in present higher education strongly influences the role of a teacher. In this situation teachers have to deal with new roles and new approaches to organizational culture in higher education establishments. Teachers should educate students in terms of organizational culture which deals with the future generation problems. The article discusses the interaction between the organizational culture of students and teachers. Furthermore, the paper pays particular attention to the main feature of the organizational culture and its role in the educational process. However characteristics of the teacher of the XXI century are stated in the article. This role is particularly significant and requires much responsibility. In conclusion, some suggestions are provided so that education institutions and administrations can successfully support the formation of organizational culture among students.

Карпенко Ольга Александровна,

аспирант кафедры технологии социальной работы, Самарский университет; 443011, г. Самара, ул. академика Павлова, д. 1.

РОЛЬ УЧИТЕЛЯ В ФОРМИРОВАНИИ ОРГАНИЗАЦИОННОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ СТУДЕНТОВ

КЛЮЧЕВЫЕ СЛОВА: система высшего образования; организационная культура; функция культуры; роль учителя.

АННОТАЦИЯ. Изменения в системе высшего образования влияют на роль учителя. Учитель должен знать новые функции и подходы к организационной культуре в высших образовательных учреждениях. Учителя должны формировать у студентов организационную культуру, которая рассматривает проблемы будущих поколений. В статье рассматривается взаимодействие организационной культуры студентов и учителей. Более того, автор уделяет особое внимание основной черте организационной культуры и ее роли в образовательном процессе. В статье даются характеристики учителя XXI века. Должность учителя значима и требует большой ответственности. В заключение автор дает некоторые рекомендации, которые помогут образовательным учреждениям и администрации успешно формировать организационную культуру студентов.

Modern educational system is developing in a rapid way. It means the current society demands professional teachers as well as the specialists in different spheres who obtain variety of skills and abilities. Businesses, nonprofit organizations, governments and universities are in serious need of effective specialists to guide them in today's increasingly unpredictable world. Especially, if we are talking about specialists in humanities we should take into consideration that they are going to work with people, for example sociologists, psychologists, social workers and so on. Those specialists are responsible for social well-being and social care. That is why it is vital to train these specialists in a proper way. The organizational-culture is the essential part of their education. Teachers should take care about the process of formation of the organization culture of future specialists in humanities. In this article we are going to concentrate on one particular feature which is involved into organizational culture. We are going to explain why it is important to pay attention to it during the educational process; what is the teacher's role; what is the main function of culture in the educational process; how the organizational

culture of a teacher influences the organizational culture of a student.

Understanding the differences between people and their attitudes is one of the most significant features of the organizational culture. It sounds easy but it is not that simple. And to understand all these factors a person's mind should be well-trained in 3 directions: psychological, philosophical and pedagogical. In terms of psychology is essential to be aware of the behavioral models and their influence. In terms of pedagogical studies we concentrate our attention on face to face equal communication. A teacher and a student are partners of one educational game in which no one can win or lose they just can empower each other, otherwise the educational process will lead to little effect may have bad consequences. In philosophical understanding a teacher and a student should enrich each other's worldview with new experiences or attitudes. This interaction is the basis of every kind of education or upbringing. That is why teachers have to pay attention to their worldview which may partly be transmitted to the students. The teacher's role is to identify the path the student's should go and be an example of a path-goer because identifying

© Karpenko O. A., 2016

is not the only thing to do. In other words the teacher's aim is to form the organizational-culture in students by using and transmitting teacher's own ideas, behavior and attitudes. It is impossible to make students believe in something that you do not personally believe. The way to make it happen can be different, for instance one of the best methods is to surprise the audience rather than to present the whole idea at once. Some sort of mystery is the engine of the educational process. Moreover, there are specific features of different research groups which were studied by J. Y. Yanez and M. Al-topiedi [10]. The research groups are the places where models of behavior, values, cultural meanings and social rules are totally explained for newcomers [2]. The kind of environment influences the students' values. The teacher should take the particular qualities of students from different research groups and with different backgrounds. In consequence, we focus on the groups' culture and identity [4] and more specifically their collectively assumed ways of working and the relationships among their members, especially those of trust and effective communication [7].

What role does the culture play in the educational process? Therefore, the main function of culture is the project of social interaction regulations between members of the educational process. To make this function work there are four things that have to be trained

Interaction and training

The programs of activities, behavior and communication are developed, preserved and passed from one generation to another by culture. Culture gives a meaning to different intellectual and emotional expressions of people, selects and combines socially productive ideas. According to the theory of social action researcher T. Parsons states several functions of culture, such as the transfer of experience, the maintaining of social traditions; the learning function; the social integration of team members. Thus, from the one hand culture is the product of the social system and from the other hand culture controls the social interaction itself. Moreover, T. Parsons claims that along with culture, there is also a system of beliefs of cultural patterns which provides standards of selective orientations and ordering. Beliefs are the part of culture from the one side. From the

during the educational interaction between the teacher and the students:

1. Students have to be aware of the effective interactions among people with the help of: targeted system training (children and adolescent education, general educational socialization, etiquette training); a teacher's self-demonstration and behavioral examples (in religion, everyday life, literature, art).

2. A teacher should describe to the students the understanding of the practical experience of cultural and moral regulations and their functions in different cultures.

3. Information support: verbal communication, transmitting information orally or in writing with words of spoken language; nonverbal symbolic codes that transmit information using conventional signs, symbols, emblems; visual media (physical and electronic) that transmit information through images; sound carriers (physical and electronic) that transmit information using tonal, rhythmically and harmonically organized sounds; plastic media transmission using symbolic postures, gestures, facial expressions, body movements, dance movements, etc.

4. Social regulations: mandatory regulation (laws, the dominant ideology, ceremonies, rituals, rituals); society's attitudes (morals, ethical values) [6].

To show the function of culture clearly there is a figure 1.

other side beliefs are internalized as part of the personality possesses them. That means every tutor can influence students by his beliefs and values. According to Parsons there is a system of existential beliefs that can be divided into two groups: empirical and non-empirical beliefs. The difference is simply that ideas or beliefs are called empirical when, in terms of the major orientations of the cultural tradition of which they are the part of, they concern processes which are defined as subject to understanding and manipulation in a pattern of "practical rationality", that is what we call empirical science. Those beliefs which are contrasted to empirical beliefs are called non-empirical beliefs. In current science, they are beliefs which are neither verifiable nor dis-provable by the science experiments [12].

Fig. 1

Nevertheless, the teacher may be a holder of empirical beliefs because he is a professor or a scientist at the same time. But he is also a human who is able to believe in mystery, something inexplicable or even non-existent. Therefore, the tutor should be familiar with his own beliefs that he is going to put in the educational process. Here teacher's organizational culture plays a crucial role - it contributes to social adaptation of people. In our case it assists students to adopt to the educational system and to their future profession. However, it is a long way from acceptance of teacher's belief to its commitment. From the teacher's position the acceptance of students' diverse opinions can be also a personal challenge.

Juan Enriquez in his talk about reprogramming our life mentioned several life principles that should be discussed. First of all, we should take responsibility. He is talking about random mutations that can occur as a result of scientific experiments. In our situation teachers should be liable for the mind-mutations that can happen in their student's minds. For example, if the teacher one day states that Russia is not the right place for the sexual minorities. His belief can plant the ideas that people are not equal in our rights. The second principle is the recognition and the celebration of diversity. Surprisingly, we are not very different in terms of our DNA, but we differ in terms of our minds. The third one is the respect of other people's choices. And the last principle is education of each other [5]. It seems that those principles are applicable in the education field

The term 'organizational culture' was first used in the late 1970s. However, the meaning of this term has been studied since the 1930-1940-ies. During that time there was a research about interpersonal and ethical issues that may have an influence on the individuals who work for the industrial organizations. One of the first was the concept of "human relations" [11]. Furthermore, the work of K. Lewin has a particular importance. During his research that was dealt with professional behavior of groups he developed a theory of organizational changes. It was a start for the future research about motivation and leadership [9]. By the end of 1960 culture of the organization has been defined as a method of improving the internal integration and coherence. Although, the establishment of

as well. New roles of a teacher are meaningful in the process of formation organizational-culture among students.

There is an increase in the number of studies on concepts related to the continuity of professional development and changes in the way university administrators, especially teachers, do their job [1]. There is a need in better understanding of the teacher's role and what is included in it. Primarily, the acceptance of the previous principles is required from the teacher. Furthermore, a cultural change is in high demand in order to achieve a significant and sustainable improvement. From the one hand the teacher is responsible for educating students who are able to provide rapid, innovative solutions and willing to take measured risks to achieve positive results. From the other hand, the exciting university culture influences teachers to behave in a common way and believe in certain values and habits. This means changes in assumptions and beliefs are the part of the changes in the organizational culture of the educational institution. However, Wells and Feun stated, changing culture of an organization is a difficult and time-consuming job [18]. Therefore, the formation of the organizational culture is one of the most challenging aspects in the implementations of teacher's role.

To have a clear picture of the interactions between teachers', students' and the educational institutions' organizational cultures there is a figure 2.

Student's (opinions, attitudes)

rr

theory systems by T. Parsons raised the importance of the organizational culture which provides the efficient interaction and adaptation to the fast-paced world (Parsons T.,1960).

There are plenty of modern definitions of the term 'organizational culture' that are given. Robbins defines organizational culture as "a collective system of meaning that is followed by members that differentiate their organization from others" [14, p. 299]. Hoy and Miskel expresses organizational culture as a "system of orientations that keeps organizational units connected and gives a distinct identity of them" [8, p. 165]. Also, Schein E. H. gives his definition, in which he states that the organizational culture is the pattern of the basic postulates that appeared in the process of adaptation, in-

Fig. 2

ner integration and socialization. With the help of organizational culture we can find out how any kind of group is functioning [15]. That means that by studying the organizational culture we have to learn the behavior patterns of a group as well. E. H. Sechein made a conclusion that any group that has a fixed number of members and a variety of group experiences forms the cultural formation. If the leaders or members of the group change very fast they may not form the collective cultural features. Consequently, in order to have the effective interaction among all organizational cultures which are shown in figure 2, there should be an organizational trust which is one of the most important criterias to develop teacher's leadership. Teachers who trust their managers will work beyond what is formally required [17]. Tschannen-Moran reports that benevolence, competence, consistency, honesty, and openness are related features for organizational culture. Trust in colleagues encourages that teacher's initiative, that they are willing to try new ideas and methods [3]. The increase of teachers-leaders is in high demand nowadays because only they meet the criteria of the teacher of the XXI century are able to contribute to formation of student's organizational culture.

The aim of a teacher in current educational system is not just to impact content based conceptual learning but also to manage with the generation which is going to have their job at least in four or six years (if we are talking about university students). To attain this goal a teacher should be a predictor in some way unless he does not want his students be out of the job market after ceremony of graduation. Knowledge is not fixed that is why the only

thing the teacher can do is to teach the students how to study and distinguish various kinds of information. The key to this skill is the organizational culture which enable students how to learn. However, a lot depend on the teacher's organizational culture and characteristics.

Andrew Churches concedes the following characteristics of the XXI century teacher [16, p. 66]:

• the role model,

• the adaptor,

• the reflexive practioner,

• motivator,

• agent of change,

• counselor,

• the supporter,

• the communicator,

• the learner,

• the visionary,

• the leader,

• the risk taker,

• the collaborator.

According to this classification we may draw a conclusion that the role of a teacher is extremely multitasking. The formation of the organizational culture is not an easy task, however if a teacher understands their role in the process, it does the educational process much easier. Success of students in the formation of the educational culture is the ultimate goal of an educator. Nevertheless, we have to take into consideration what makes the success possible. The teacher's role is to embrace science and the culture of the XXI century, in order to educate students whose organizational culture is able to face the future employer's demands.

REFERENCES

1. Berger M. J., Forgette-Giroux R. Building professional learning communities. The international handbook of cultures of professional development for teachers / / Analytics. Strasbourg. 2012. P. 265-284.

2. Blasi B., Romagnosi S. Social dynamics in scientific practices: Focus on research groups // Sociologia. 2012. Vol. 46. № 2. P. 66-77.

3. Bryk A. S., Schneider B. Trust in schools: A core resource for improvement // Russel Sage Foundation. New York, 2002.

4. Deem R., Lucas L. Research and teaching cultures in two contrasting UK policy contexts: Academic life in education departments in five English and Scottish universities / / Higher Education. 2007. Vol. 54. P. 115-133.

5. Enriquez J. We can reprogram our life. How to do it wisely. URL:https://www.ted.com/talks/juan_enriquez_we_can_reprogram_life_how_to_do_it_wisely.

6. Flier A.J. Culture as socio-regulative system and its historical typology // The culture of culture. 2014. Vol. 2 № 2.

7. Harley S. The impact or research selectivity on academic work and identity // Studies in Higher Educa-tion.2002. Vol. 27. № 2. P. 187-205.

8. Hoy W. K., Miskel C. G. Egitim yonetimi: Teori, arastirma ve uygulama (trans. S. Turan). Ankara : Nobel Yayinlari, 2010.

9. Lewin K. Field theory in social science; selected theoretical papers. D. Cartwright (Ed.). N. Y. : Harper & Row, 1951.

10. Lopez-Yanez J., Altopiedi, M. Evolution and social dynamics of acknowledged research groups // High education. 2015. P. 629-647.

11. Mayo E. The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization / / Routledge. 2007.

12. Parsons T. The social system. London : Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., 1991.

13. Parsons T. Structure and Process in Modern Societies. N. Y. : Free Press, 1960.

14. Robbins S. P. Orgustel davranism temmelleri (trans. S. A. Osturk), Eskisehir : Anadolu Universirty Yayinlari, 2004.

15. Schein E. H. Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1992.

16. Sufiana K. Malik. Image of an effective teacher in 21st century classroom // Journal of Educational and instructional Studies in the world. Vol. 3. 2013. P. 61-68.

17. Tschannen-Moran M. Collaboration and the need for trust // Journal of Educationall Administration. 2001. Vol. 39. №4. P. 308-331.

18. Well C., Feun L. Implementation of learning community principles: A study of six high schools // NASSP Bulletin. 2007. Vol. 91. №2. P. 141-160.

Статью рекомендует д-р пед. наук, проф. Л. В. Куриленко.

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