Changing School Culture Through Action Research and Leadership

Abstract

This paper explores how action research helped one school positively change its school culture. This school, Caversham Primary School, used GSE's (Group Special Education's) Eliminating Violence, Managing Anger Programme (Special Education Services, 2000) as a tool to examine and reduce bullying at the school. This programme mirrors the phases of action research and is based on some of the same premises of action research; for example, self-reflection and a commitment to effect positive school change. The results of Caversham School's self-reflective research eventually created a positive change to the school's culture so that there was a reduction in the bullying rates at the school.  The research programme was also driven by a strong leader who improved her own leadership style in response to feedback within the research.