Educational Alternatives, Volume 12, 2014

Abstract: This paper focuses on describing and discussing the existence of a new research tool for the reanalysis of school cultures. The concept of school culture refers to Berg (2003) and his school development strategy of scope for action. A central issue in organizations is how to reconcile the organization’s nomothetic and idiographic aspirations and structures. At school, this problem can be understood as the dialectical interplay between institutional and organizational values. In-depth knowledge of actors' behavior and attitudes in the context of interaction increases the ability of school development for the benefit of students. Polyphonic reanalysis of a school culture makes it possible to achieve an extended understanding of the underlying patterns of a school´s everyday work from a micro-oriented perspective. The new instrument has been tested in a context of pupil culture in primary school.