Corporate culture in preparatory schools : the business of independent education

Abstract

This study sets out to investigate the impact of corporate acquisition on a group of four small independent preparatory schools owned, and run, by one of the UK's largest suppliers of independent education. Specifically it aims to prove that such acquisition results in the imposition of a business climate which was previously not evident, and the emergent development of 'corporate culture'. Its methodological approach is that of a multiple-site case study utilising a technique developed by Hargreaves (1995), and supported by a series of one-to-one interviews with the head-teachers of the schools and a representative sample of their staff. It begins by considering the characteristics which constitute a typical independent preparatory school and the apparent lack of recent research in this area. From this it undertakes an extensive literature review of previous research into organizational and school culture, and attempts to identify whether any real differences exist between these two terms. Additionally it draws a distinction between the terms 'culture' and 'climate'. The main conclusions from the study are that there is evidence to suggest that corporate acquisition of independent preparatory schools introduces an element of 'business climate' not previously associated with the schools. This climate is perceived by the staff, although not by the head-teachers, as having a detrimental effect on the education of the children within the school, with much of the investment being inappropriately used to improve the facade of the schools. There is also some evidence to support the growth of corporate culture within the schools, although this is far less explicit than the existence of a business climate. Much of this perception appears to be as a direct result of the lack of corporate communication and interaction between the organization's executive officers and the staff of the schools. Staff are generally of the opinion that they do not matter. Finally it makes some firm recommendations for future research in the independent preparatory school sector and in the field of corporate acquisition and its consequences in particular.

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