A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Culture–Practice Gaps in Sindh Government Schools: Evidence from Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

This study employs Cucchiara et al.'s (2025) integrative theory of school culture to investigate culture-practice gaps across the formal, informal, and environmental domains in Sindh government schools in Karachi, Pakistan. Using a survey sample of 380 teachers, the study measures the extent of gap by operationalizing school culture into three sources (formal, informal, environmental) and two forms (meanings, practices), analyzing the alignment and misalignment between espoused cultural values and enacted practices.  The findings indicate considerable heterogeneity in terms of the gaps patterns: formal culture shows minimal gap (M = 0.55, d = 0.25), informal culture demonstrates substantial aspiration deficits (M = 4.16, d = 2.00), and environmental culture exhibits implementation surpluses (M = −3.53, d = −1.57). The reliability of the measurement instrument has been found to be acceptable to excellent (α = .779–.914) and strong construct validity through convergent and discriminant validity evidence. Female teachers have significantly higher perceptions about culture in all dimensions. School type had a significant positive effect on cultural perceptions, with mixed schools demonstrating higher alignment. The findings help highlight the multidimensional nature of cultural dissonance in resource-constrained schools educational contexts and extend Cucchiara et al.'s framework to resource-constraint schools and the educational contexts of developing countries.