EXAMINING SCHOOL CULTURE IN TERMS OF STRONG AND WEAK CULTURAL FEATURES

The main aim of this study is to examine the strong and weak cultural features of schools. Literature has defined strong cultural features as the most of the school members agree on; conversely, weak cultural features are described as the members indicate disagreement on. Operational description of these approaches are harmoniousness and fragmentation, respectively (Hofstede, Hofstede and Minkov, 2010). In this study, School Culture Measurement, developed by researchers, was used as data collecting instrument. Using stratify and random sampling techniques, 912 teachers from 51 schools in Aksaray Province, located in Capadocia region in Anatolia, participated in this research. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis. At the end of the study 17 features out of 44 were identified as strong cultural features, whereas, 5 features were determined as weak cultural features. Results supports that the approach of harmonious culture is dominant in Turkish schools. The factorial structures of strong cultural features were classified under 4 titles namely being student oriented, professional development, fulfilling the responsibilities and working towards school's mission. Weak cultural features are belonged to symbols and heroes.