The Ethics of Educational Leadership

PREFACE No issue has captured the interest and imagination of the American public more than the subject of ethics, particularly in relation to leadership in the public sector. Further, ethical issues in education now concern not only the conduct of administrators, teachers, and staff members in relation to how they fulfill their responsibilities in schools and school districts, but also the ethics of their private lives. The public makes little distinction between the arenas in which educational leaders deal with ethical situations. People are concerned with the ethical fiber of superintendents, principals, and other administrators regardless of the situations in which they perform an action. They are public figures and as such are expected to be role models for students, other educators, and the public in general. In treating the subject of ethics as it relates to educational leadership, the material and argumentation in this text are organized so that they support Standard Five of the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards for School Leaders. This standard is concerned with the ethics of school leadership. The works of important philosophers provide the basis for the development of the ethical principles presented in this book. Equally important is the methodology that these philosophers used in arriving at ethical insights. The lasting benefit to students of educational-leadership ethics is understanding their method of analysis. Two philosophers from the classical period are presented, along with six from the modern period and fifteen from the contemporary period. These philosophers were chosen because their ideas and concepts are relevant to the American ethos and to the practice of educational leadership. The Ethics of Educational Leadershipshould be of interest to three groups of people: professors of educational leadership who have the instructional responsibility of teaching courses in ethics; practicing central-office and school-building administrators who want to become more familiar with the field of ethics; and members of the general public who have an interest in how ethics relates to educational leadership. The book is organized into five parts. Part One, "The Ethical Administrator," comprises Chapters 1 through 3 and is concerned with establishing the fundamental principles endemic to being an ethical person who is also an educational leader. Part Two, "The Ethical Practice of Educational Leadership," includes Chapters 4 and 5, which concentrate on the ethical practice of central-office and school-building administration. Part Three, "Equity and Educational Leadership," contains Chapters 6 and 7. These chapters deal with gender equity and how other kinds of equity issues can be addressed in a pluralistic society. In addition, this section discusses equity from the perspective of social justice and considers how public discourse can contribute to the development of educational administration policies. The Epilogue constitutes the fourth part of this book, and sets forth some final thoughts about ethics. Last is the Appendix, which contains a self-assessment instrument that will help the reader ascertain his or her understanding of ethical principles in relation to educational leadership activities. Several pedagogical features will help the reader understand the nuances of the material. Each chapter contains the following sections: "Other Philosophical Approaches to the Issues in This Chapter," "Crosswalk to ISLLC Standard Five" (except Chapter 1), "Ethical Considerations Presented in This Chapter," "Summary," "Discussion Questions and Statements," and "Selected Bibliography," as well as one or more case studies (except Chapter 1). Further, the text includes several excerpts from the writings of important philosophers and from documents that set forth principles that have an impact on ethical conduct. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am espRonald W. Rebore is the author of 'The Ethics of Educational Leadership', published 2000 under ISBN 9780137879205 and ISBN 0137879202.