Social and Cultural Foundations of American Education/Administration/Ethical Leadership

Ethical leadership in education is essential in order for principals and teachers to run effective schools. Principals must show ethical judgment in dealing with teachers as well as students. Teachers hold the responsibility of ethical judgment, not just to ensure their well-being, but also to act as an example to their students. Students learn many of their ethical values at school. It is important to understand the difference between ethics and the law. “Ethics refers to a system or code of morality embraced by a particular person or group” (Cooper, Ryan p.395). The law is defined as “a system of rules that governs the general conduct of a particular community’s citizens” (Cooper, Ryan p.395). While it is true that many laws are grounded in ethics, not all laws are ethical. An example is the segregation of schools in America before the Civil Rights movement. To make a school work, principals and teachers must work within the law, but they must also create a trusting working relationship with each other and their students through ethics.

Principals
Principals have a double responsibility of being leaders to teachers and students. Here are some examples of how principals should treat their teachers:
 * 1) Contracts are not broken unilaterally.
 * 2) Anonymous information is not used to injure others.
 * 3) One does not personally profit from the position held.
 * 4) Confidential materials are kept confidential.
 * 5) One does not use school employees and school materials for personal matters.
 * 6) Expense accounts are not falsified.
 * 7) School leaders tell the truth, have integrity, and adhere to the ethics of the profession (Phi Delta Kappa ’98).

All of these rights are things that teachers should be able to count on from their principals. However, that power must never be abused, a principal should never act as a dictator. The relationship between students and principals has always been a stressed one. Children tend to dread being sent to the principal’s office, because they have that air of authority. Principals have difficult jobs in that they are often the people parents complain to first and they have to report to the superintendent. Suppose you were a principal and one of your students had a problem with the way a teacher said something in class, they report it to their parents, and before you know it the superintendent is calling you on the phone demanding the dismissal of that teacher. The teacher has not had any kind of due process in this case. There are two kinds of due process “substantive due process, which has to do with the issue itself” and “the other, procedural due process, which concerns the fairness of the process followed” (Ryan, Cooper p.405). The teacher should have been given an investigation into the case before the superintendent called you. Do you have the gumption to tell your superior “no”? In short, principals must “work with employees who are more articulate now than ever in voicing their needs, with parents who wish to become more involved in the day-to-day operations of the schools, with legislators who desire to provide more detailed direction to schools regarding specific programs or activities, and with school boards feeling the pressure from all of the groups, who desire to ‘keep control’ or ‘manage’ the schools” (Phi Delta Kappa ’98).

Teachers
Teachers have a responsibility to act as an unbiased ethical example to their students. One way for teachers to start this is to decide on what ethical code of conduct to use in their classroom. This involves identifying several traits and attitudes they feel their students should follow, and then modeling these behaviors. One example is placing the student’s needs before their own, students seeing this may one day come to appreciate the effort (Killion, 2001). Teachers today are up against great ethical obstacles; a 2002 poll by the Josephson Institute of Ethics (a non-profit organization) discovered that 74% of 12,000 high school students admitted to cheating on a test the year before (Lehr, 2003). This being the case, it becomes imperative that teachers teach ethics to their students. Teachers are in a position of power, they have the authority to send students to the principal's office, decide grades, and have parent-teacher conferences. Everyone remembers at least one teacher in their grade school career they were afraid of. Teachers also must learn to regulate themselves so that they do not abuse their power. After all “stewardship asks leaders to acknowledge their own human faults and limitations rather than hiding behind their status and power” (Lashway, ‘97). The National Education Association (NEA) has a code of ethics that is used by the teaching profession as a whole. In it’s preamble it states that “The educator, believing in the worth and dignity of each human being, recognizes the supreme importance of the pursuit of truth, devotion to excellence, and the nurture of democratic principles” (Ryan, Cooper p.402). It then goes on to list two basic principles, a commitment to the student, and a commitment to the profession (Ryan, Cooper p.402) In a way, being a teacher is a bit like being a doctor, including the pledging of ethical treatment to those they serve. Ethical decisions will not always be cut and dry. “An ‘ethical dilemma’ is not a choice between right and wrong, but a choice between two rights” (Lashway, ’97). For example: Making a choice between two students who are both equally qualified to be on the debate team. Being a teacher requires the skills to make decisions that are not always easy. In addition to student responsibilities, teachers have their own code of conduct or responsibilities to adhere by which may include all or some of the following: instructing students by using guidelines of courses of study provided for the grade and subject matter taught, planning instructions in order to provide efficient teaching and learning, keeping accurate attendance on a daily basis, counseling students who have any problems or referring students to the principal if problems are severe, storing and using supplies and equipment properly, reporting any repairs to the office, attending faculty and staff meetings, sponsoring school or class clubs upon the request of the principal, using the cumulative records of each student to aid in understanding their progress to help them individually, evaluating the achievement of each student and recognizing development, understanding the school board’s policy, and fulfilling any duty assignments etc. These responsibilities should be performed every day during the school year by the teacher unless otherwise instructed. The student is always the top priority, and the teacher’s main responsibility (Teacher Responsibilities).

School Success
A successful school is one governed by ethics. It is not only a delicate balance of what is right and wrong, but of opinion and circumstance. Conveying this idea to employees, parents, and students has been the challenge of teachers and administrators since schools began. The “moral imperatives of the effective leader embody shared values, trust, honesty, fairness, equity, empowerment, human dignity, doing the right thing, rule of law, justice, and beneficence” (Phi Delta Kappa ’98). For any human being this list can be overwhelming, but for teachers and principals it is imperative that they live by it for the sake of each other and their students.

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