Have Schools Forgotten Humility?
- May 28, 2025
- 4 min read
Danisa Abiel is well known for her practical solutions to teaching and learning in the advancing fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). She is the founder of International Teaching Learning Assessment Consultants and Online Schools (ITLACO). She has authored 20 editions of her newsletter, "The Educator's Diaries," on LinkedIn.
What is Humility? Humility is a greatly misunderstood concept and principle. To some, it is about looking after the family ( own or extended family); to others, it is about giving and then being elevated for the good deed; to others, it is about setting a legacy in their name; to others, it is about doing good and being kind to others. Humility means a lot of other things to many.
While nothing is wrong with all these perceptions of humility, they are all about service to one another, perhaps through our different cultures, beliefs, capacities, and capabilities.
To reach the point of true humility, where one is humble and serves others more than oneself, sometimes one faces a crisis that compels them toward compassion for others in difficult situations or to change environments that are in deprivation. Deprivation includes food, finances, homes, and other basic needs and emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental needs.
Humility in mainstream schools
In mainstream schools in the United Kingdom and perhaps in other parts of the world, deprivation encompasses all the above. A large percentage of children in UK schools are in deprivation in one way or another. Because of this, schools have developed cultural humility that focuses mainly on understanding others.
What is culture, and what is its relevance to humility in schools?
Culture is the way people do things. Shared beliefs, values, and norms mean that people have similar ways of thinking and behaving across cultural groups. The group could be defined as people from the same country, religion, school, or other defining feature. And one place or group may have multiple cultures within it (Cultural Humility in Schools | Optimus Education Blog, n.d.).
If children in a school behave similarly and understand one another, they can integrate and accept each other. Teachers and students come from diverse backgrounds with different cultures, and school leaders are then challenged to bring these cultures together to form a school culture. The culture of a school determines the humility of the individuals in the school. Notably, a small percentage of schools have had positive outcomes.
Most schools fail in this area as teachers and curriculum leaders have self-serving bureaucratic agendas, where humility is shown on paper, but what is happening is the opposite. Internal networks are built to create secondary cultures that serve certain teachers and curriculum leaders and discredit the ethos of humility. These secondary cultures rub onto students as the primary school cultures are not fully implemented. Headteachers often realise this too late when students' behaviour negatively escalates in and outside the school. This is supported by the research findings in the journal Research et al. (2024), which confirms that:
In May 2023, the majority (81%) of school leaders and teachers agreed that staff in their school shared an understanding of what "good behaviour" means.
In May 2023, most pupils (85%) agreed they knew how their school expected them to behave. This is a decrease from 91% in June 2022.
Almost all school leaders and teachers (98%) reported that rules on behaviour were applied fairly to pupils at least some of the time (May 2023). However, only 38% of school leaders and 19% of teachers reported this happened ‘all of the time’. Overall, 89% of pupils reported rules were applied fairly to all pupils at least some of the time, with 18% reporting this happened ‘all of the time’.
What needs to happen?
Some considerations that can be taken into account in schools’ journeys to humility are:
Understanding that acts of humility are long-term and that patience is crucial.
Resilience is a must. In various forms, drawbacks will arise and must be overcome.
Understanding that it is never about you (teachers and leaders) but about the task or resolution of the situation. This may mean reconsidering your own "wants".
Understanding that it is not about doing it alone, but also about prioritising other people with the best skills for the task or situation.
Understanding it is also about asking for help; you can't do everything.
Understanding that it is not about what people say or think or about pleasing them. It is always about the cause.
Understanding that it is not about being financially rewarded or well-known for your deed,s but about the outcomes of serving others (students and families).
It requires a consistent commitment to a cause or causes in serving others.
It is important to understand that it is not about how many resources you have as a school initially, but how well you generate and spread more resources.
Understand that to be humble and successful as teachers and school leaders, we need the grace and mercy to believe in the cause we serve.
Have a blessed week.
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, – Colossians 3:12, English Standard Version
Read more from Danisa Abiel
Danisa Abiel, Teaching and Learning Consultant and Founder
Danisa Abiel is a passionate leader and educator in Biology, Physics, and Chemistry, with over thirty years of experience. Witnessing firsthand how students find science subjects challenging, she founded an online school to support students in various situations to improve and excel in science. Her greatest aspiration is to ensure all children receive the best science education, regardless of where they are in the world.
References:
Cultural humility in schools | Optimus Education Blog. (n.d.).
Research, I., Taylor, J., Hassan, A., Collins, J., Verian, Hingley, S., Gaskell, E., Morris, J., Man, C., Milne, E., Thornton, A., & Vasic, S. (2024). National behaviour survey: Findings from Academic Year 2022/23. In National Behaviour Survey.
