Kohia ngā Taikākā: Collecting the Heartwood. A thematic analysis of stakeholder interviews on the culture of Avondale College, 1989-2025

Abstract

School culture, with its deep values and visible symbols and practices, plays a powerful role in shaping educational outcomes and capacity for transformation. However, empirical studies of school culture in Aotearoa New Zealand are scarce. This study examines the school culture of Avondale College, a large, diverse, co-educational, public secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. It uses the methodology of Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) to analyse semi-structured interviews with eleven purposively selected members of the Avondale College community, using an organisational culture theory lens.

The analysis reveals two important aspects of ‘heartwood’ at the core of Avondale College’s school culture. These are ‘Excellence as a values-driven practice’ and ‘Whanaungatanga as a foundational cultural value’. Leadership is found to be an important mechanism for the transmission of culture. These findings align with international literature on school culture in relation to themes of effectiveness, belonging, relationships and leadership, and add further insight into the importance of the concept of whanaungatanga in the context of education in Aotearoa New Zealand.

A conceptual framework is developed to illustrate the culture of Avondale College, based on a tree with the ‘heartwood’ values of ‘excellence’ and ‘whanaungatanga’ at its core; branches that show manifestations of culture (symbolic, behavioural and verbal/conceptual); and leaves of visible surface culture.

These findings are significant as they can help to inform the future strategic direction of the school, particularly in relation to recognising leaders as kaitiaki/stewards of culture; harnessing the power of storytelling; enhancing the effectiveness of change strategies; and drawing from the stability of the school’s culture in the face of challenge and change. This research can also give broader insight into how dimensions of culture impact a school’s identity, goals and outcomes in a New Zealand context, which may have relevance to other communities. Limitations of this study include the small sample size and its context-specific nature which makes it replicable but not generalisable.