The Understanding of School Culture: A Comparative Study of Eight Vernacular Schools in Malaysia

Abstract

This research study was conducted to investigate and compare the level of understanding of what school culture is among school principals and teachers from eight selected schools under the national (NS), national-type Chinese (NCS), and Tamil (NTS) schools. A quantitative survey research approach involving the administration of a standardised questionnaire was developed to unravel notable issues for further action/attention, while achieving generalisation of its findings to a larger context. The results of the quantitative survey showed compatibility of cultural stance between the national and national-type Tamil schools and indicated a general level of cultural understanding among their respondents. The survey results for the national-type Chinese schools, on the other hand, were of an anomaly, and are suggestive of a general lack of cultural understanding among their respondents, in particular, of the different cultural constructs in the culture-building process. Recommendations that pertain to future research to better understand the perceived cultural stance of the research participants and the influence of ethnicity and cultural upbringing on the way their cultural understanding was conceived. Practical implementations aimed at reinforcing the understanding among schools of the imperative of values and beliefs towards a shared culture and mapping cultural intervention to ultimate school/student achievements. Policy consideration was suggested to maintain focus and alignment of cultural values and beliefs, amidst the challenges of diverging cultural influence as the school grows and expands.