Social Norms In Public Schools

Pluralistic ignorance is of greatest influence when the motivation of an individual’s behavior is fear of social disapproval (Berkowitz, 2003). This is most especially true for males who face acceptance by peers through a masculine image. Often times this type of acceptance comes at the cost of one suppressing behavior that may be viewed as incongruent to the masculine image despite the fact that the individual does not genuinely agree with the norm. Ultimately, this becomes false consensus or unintentional encouragement to those males who exemplify the masculine image and may result in a perpetuation of belief that the inappropriate behaviors are seemingly congruent with expected social norms.
Research indicates the leadership practices within a school potentially have a
Social norm theory provides a basis for a behavioral standard within a group such that any deviation from these norms is viewed as socially undesirable (Schultz, Nolan, Cialdini, Goldstein, & Griskevicius, 2007). To align with social group norms exhibiting homophobia, peers could influence bystanders to increase or decrease their anti-gay attitudes and behavior, or, alternately, provide implied validation of attitudes and behavior over time (Poteat, 2007). Since the current social norm in public schools aligns with heterosexual behavior, LGBT students may feel pressured to conform so as to gain peer approval (Schwartz, 1994). Such pressure to conform to social norms contributes to LGBT students feeling banished from traditional school life, thereby imposing forced isolation or a sense of invisibility. Furthermore, when expected social norm behavior is unclear or ambiguous, the likelihood of individuals aligning with negative or prejudicial acts increases (Zitek & Hebl, 2006). Thus, organizations must seek ways to begin to ‘teach’ social norms that embrace all students—essentially ‘re-norming’ public