A Crisis of Identity: school merger and cultural transition

Abstract

This paper charts the transition in staff professional cultures and identities when three primary sector schools were merged, focusing on the cultural leadership activity of the headteacher of the single merged school before and after reorganisation. A combined cultural and political perspective is employed to analyse who has the power to shape the staff professional culture and identity. The impact of the headteacher's attempts to build a unified staff culture and corporate identity are interpreted through this perspective. Unintended consequences of the merger were two forms of ‘balkanisa‐tion’, or development of subcultures and separate identities in the merged institution: first, preservation of the pre‐merger culture of staff in the infant department and their primary identification as members of this department; and second, the emergence of the senior management team as a new group responsible for promoting a unified staff culture and new institutional identity but which, nevertheless, other staff perceived to distance them from the headteacher. Implications of the findings for policy‐makers responsible for reorganisation of schooling are outlined and the potential of the cultural and political perspective for understanding the process of organisational change is considered.