Ethics Authors A – L

 

Citation 

Abstract 

Keyword 

Almond, B. (Ed.) (1999)

Introducing applied ethics. Cambridge: Blackwell.

This timely collection of introductory essays provides a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to and survey of the major moral debates of today. The text follows a logical development from the more personal and immediate concerns of the individual to the broadest and most extensive practical applications of contemporary ethical theory – including the public, medical, professional, legal, social, political and global dimensions. Topics covered include families, love, gender, children, education, the media, business, genetics, science, psychiatry, crime, death, police, health care, liberty, property, capitalism, nationalism, wealth, war, terrorism, animal rights and the environment. This lively and important volume gives readers exactly what they need to understand and evaluate the diversity of ethical arguments and debates. Each chapter is supplemented by comprehensive notes, a reading guide and a bibliography. Written by leading ethicists and moral philosophers, it provides the ideal basis for an introductory course in applied ethics. Animal rights;
Business;
Capitalism;
Children;
Crime;
Death;
Education;
Environment;
Ethical theory;
Ethics;
Families;
Gender;
Genetics;
Health care;
Liberty;
Love;
Media;
Moral philosophers;
Morals;
Nationalism;
Police;
Psychiatry;
Science;
Terrorism;
War;
Wealth
Aronson , N.D. (2002, October). The challenge of building and sustaining collegiality in schools: compassion versus sentimentality. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, University of Toronto. The basic principles of a character education as stated by the Florida Character Education Partnership include ethical values, moral action and leadership, curriculum, intrinsic motivation, and behavior. The purpose of the paper is to determine whether school leaders exercise ethical elements of character education in their hiring practices. Based on preliminary data gathered from three participants representing different layers of the system affiliated with one suburban high school in South Florida, this paper will explore the relationship between these principles and the eight principal leadership competencies that reflect those adopted by the state of Florida. The competencies are intended to enhance knowledge and skills for making prospective and practicing school administrators aware of the wide range of activities covered by efficient and effective human resources management. These competencies include, but not limited to, knowledge and skill in the selection of personnel, induction process, appraisal procedures, personnel files, termination procedures, collective bargaining process, compensation and reward systems. Administrators,
Appraisal procedures,
Florida,
Character education,
Collective bargaining,
Compensation,
Ethics,
Hiring practices,
Human resources,
Induction process,
Moral,
Personnel,
Reward systems,
School leaders,
Termination procedures,
Values
Ashbaugh, C.R. & Kasten, K.L. (1984) A typology of operant values in school administration. Planning and Changing. Vol.15, No.4 195-208. Interviews with 19 elementary and secondary school principals provided information about the principals’ most difficult administrative decisions. Analysis of the factors affecting their decisions revealed three types of values underlying the decisions–personalistic, organizational, and transcendant–with distinctly different potentials for affecting organizational behavior. Implications for practice are discussed. (PGD) Administrator Attitudes, Administrator Characteristics, Administrators, Decision Making, Educational Administration, Elementary Secondary Education, Ethics, Interviews, Values
Barnett, B. (2002, October). The promise and challenge of values-based leadership preparation. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, University of Toronto. This paper proposes authentic leadership as a metaphor for professionally effective, ethically sound, and consciously reflective practices in educational administration. Achieving this degree of administrative excellence is a function of three particular leadership qualities: the active pursuit of administrative sophistication by an individual as a life-long learner, the development of sensitivity to the value orientations and needs of oneself and others, and the synergy which results when the first two qualities are consciously cultivated. Authentic leadership in this broader sense of the word is a conception of sophisticated and sensitive leadership in schools. This is leadership that is an outcome of consciously motivated reflection. It is knowledge- based, values informed, and skilfully executed. This is a passionate, persistent, dedicated, and at times even ruthless form of leadership, but a leadership that is honest and open in intent, respectful of individuals as well as of groups. There is much implied here. An initial description of authentic leadership follows. Authentic Leadership;
Learning;
Leadership;
Values
Beck, L.G. & Murphy, J. (1994) Ethics in educational leadership programs: An expanded role. Thousand Oaks CA: Corwin Press. In Ethics in Educational Leadership Programs, Lynn Beck and Joseph Murphy examine the educational administration programs of 42 universities regarding their policies on ethical concerns for administrators. The authors open with a discussion of the different philosophies of moral leadership, followed by a historical overview of research and of the ebb and flow of past interest in ethics in administration. Beck and Murphy then select 13 of the 42 universities and present an in-depth evaluation of their survey findings, describing and comparing the goals and objectives, themes, activities, and philosophies of the courses taught. Ethics in Educational Leadership Programs is a unique book that argues resolutely for inquiry and for the acceptance of scientific approaches to the study of ethical issues in educational administration. Academic Courses, Dialogue, Educational Administration, Ethics, Higher education, Inquiry, Interviews, Moral leadership, Universities
Begley, P.T. & Johansson, O.  (1998a) The values of school administration: Preferences, ethics and conflicts. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education. (3), 337-422.
Begley, P.T. (1999c) Value preferences, ethics, and conflicts in school administration. In Begley, P.T. (Ed.) Values and educational leadership. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. p.176 – 207.
Begley, P.T. (2000a) Cultural isomorphs of educational administration: Reflections on the Western-centric approaches to values and leadership.  Special issue of Asia Pacific Journal of Education. 20(2), 23 – 33. Administrator Attitudes,
Conflict,
Decision Making,
Educational Administration,
Educational Research,
Elementary Secondary Education,
Ethics,
Values
Begley, P.T. (2001b) Personal values, ethics and preferences.  The Sixth Proceedings of the Premier’s Symposium on North America’s Hunting Heritage.  Eden Prairie, Minnesota: Wildlife Forever.  (Pages 55 – 71)
Begley, P.T. (2003, October). Understanding Valuation Processes and Responding Ethically: Exploring the Linkage Between Motivation and Action. Paper presented at the 8th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, Nittany Lion Inn, University Park, Pennsylvania.
Begley, P.T. and Johansson, O. (March 1997) Values and school administration: Preferences, ethics and conflicts. Paper delivered at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago. Considers the special function of values as an influence on administrative action, which generally requires rejecting some courses in favor of others. Employs theories of cognition as a conceptual lens for reviewing and classifying the theoretical and research literature of values. Adopting this perspective allows reconciliation of several theoretical and conceptual difficulties and a more effective mapping of relevant values. Cognitive Structures,
Coherence,
Educational Administration,
Elementary Secondary Education,
Theory Practice Relationship, Values
Blanco, R., & Normore, A. H. (2004). The ethical role of instructional leaders with social services, public schools and the poor: A transformational historical perspectives-contemporary response. Paper presented at the 9th Annual Values and Educational Leadership Conference, Southern Palms Resort, Barbados, October, 2004.
Blanco, R. & Normore, A. (2004, October). The ethical role of instructional leaders with social services, public schools and the poor: a transformational historical perspectives-contemporary response. Paper presented at the 9th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, Southern Palms Resort, Christ Church, Barbados.
Boss, J. (1995). Teaching Ethics Through Community Service. Journal of Experiential Education. Volume 18(1), 20-24.
Boyd, D. (2002, October). Mob membership and moral agency: dilemmas of liberalism. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, University of Toronto. This paper reports on a research project conducted by the authors in Australia from 1998-2002. The Service Organisation Leadership Research (SOLR) Project investigated the challenges and ethical dilemmas faced by leaders in a selection of frontline human service organisations and the ways in which such leaders were responding to these pressures. The research findings indicate a need for a reinterpretation of leadership thinking and practices that requires a change in systemic thinking and attitudes, particularly in the formation of authentic leaders and the building of cultures of leadership in service organisations.
Bredeson, P.V. (2002, October). Toward an ethical architecture for professional development: challenges for leaders and learners. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, University of Toronto.

Brooks, J. S., & Normore, A. H. (2005). An Aristotelian framework for the development of ethical leadership. Journal of Values and Ethics in Educational Administration. 3(2). 1-8. Available online at

http://www.ed.psu.edu/
UCEACSLE/ VEEA/archivelist.htm

Brown, G. & Irby, B. (1997) The principal portfolio. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. This paper presents a conceptual framework for teaching ethics to prospective educational leaders, which is rooted in the work of Aristotle. The authors draw primarily from Rhetoric, wherein Aristotle introduced a method of ethical analysis based on three appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos. These appeals translate roughly as character (ethos), emotion (pathos), and logic (logos). The conceptual framework calls for prospective leaders to: a) read classic and contemporary works of ethical leadership specific to each of these three constructs; b) engage in reflective practice and problems-based-learning activities designed to challenge their growing understanding of ethos, pathos, and logos, and; c) to support each individual’s creation of a coherent ethical system which can direct their ethical decision making processes as educational leaders.
Burford, C. & Duignan, P. (2003, October). Contemporary challenges and implications for leaders in frontline human service organisations. Paper presented at the 8th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, Nittany Lion Inn, University Park, Pennsylvania. The development of ethical standards by professional associations and colleges of teachers responds in part to a moral imperative that teachers and school leaders be accountable to the wider community and in part to a desire to enhance the overall professionalism of educators’ behaviour. This paper explores the conceptual and practical complexities inherent in defining ethical standards for the teaching profession with a particular focus on their questionable capacity for implementation. It argues further that moral dilemmas facing teachers are potentially resolvable only by communities of educators internalizing and applying principles of ethics, not formalized codes or standards. Accountability;
Ethics;
Ethical standards;
Moral dilemnnas;
Professionalism;
Standards;
Teaching profession;
Teachers
Burford, C. (2004, October). Ethical dilemmas and the lives of leaders: an Australian perspective on the search for the moral. Paper presented at the 9th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, Southern Palms Resort, Christ Church, Barbados.
Campbell, E. (2000, September). Let right be done: Trying to put ethical standards into practice. Paper presented at the 5th Annual Values and Educational Leadership Conference, Bridgetown, Barbados.
Campbell , E.C, (In press) Ethical school leadership: Problems of an elusive role. Journal of School Leadership.
Campbell , E.C. (1992) Personal morals and organizational ethics: How teachers and principals cope with conflicting values in the context of school cultures. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Toronto.
Campbell , E.C. (1994) Personal morals and organizational ethics: A synopsis. The Canadian Administrator. 34(2), 1-10.
Campbell, E.C. (1996) Ethical school leadership: Problems of an elusive role. Paper delivered at The Toronto Conference on Values and Educational Leadership. OISE/UT.
Campbell , E.C. (1999). Ethical school leadership: Problems of elusive role. Begley, P.T. (Ed.) Values and educational leadership. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Chassels, C. (2002, October). Teacher unionism: ethical considerations. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, University of Toronto.

This paper presents a case study of the extent to which the range of value influences present in a school community exists within a school improvement context. It was expected that this study would reveal the expectations that members of the school community perceived and felt compelled to respond to in school improvement. Seven research questions provided the framework for the study. Three of the research questions that directed the study were concerned with determining the educational goals and values espoused by the four groups of participants. A second set of three questions were focused upon examining what the members of the four groups perceived to be the educational goals and values of other community members. The final question was centred upon the way that these values influence the school improvement process.

The findings reveal that values have a significant impact in school improvement. The structure of the planning process and the role of the administrator and strategies employed by administrators are significant in resolving potential values. The significance of this research lies in examining the importance of multiple value influences in order to develop an effective plan for a school community.

Case study;
Community;
Community members
Educational goals
School community;
School improvement;
Values
Chong, C.K. (1992) Ethical egoism and the moral point of view. The Journal of Value Inquiry. 26, 23-36.
Constantinou, P.P. (2002, October). Say when: the ethics of strong-arm tactics used by educational partners and pressure groups. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, University of Toronto.
Coombs, C.P. (2002, October). Acquiring reflective habits of mind. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, University of Toronto.

Professions are identified as having ethical codes of conduct and these codes are held up as a means to ensure the profession’s credibility to the society as a whole. Students, who enter formal educational programs to become members of a specific profession, come to that program with sets of personal values and a preconceived perspective of what that profession represents.

This paper represents the preliminary results of a study regarding the effects of a formal educational program on the development of professional ethics as outlined by the regulatory body for nursing in Ontario. Through individual interviews and focus group discussions, three cross-sections of a program were examined for changes in perceptions of ethical, professional behaviour that could be linked to the educational process. From the participants’ perspective, the parts of the educational process that were most influential for them will be presented.

Codes of ethics;
Ethical codes;
Focus groupds
Individual interviews;
Professional ethics;
Qualitative research;
Cramp, D., & Normore, A.H. (2005). Ethics: The scientific and philosophic study of conduct and authenticity. Paper presented at the 10th Annual Values and educational leadership Conference. Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania. October, 2005.
Day, C. (2000). Beyond Transformational Leadership. Educational Leadership, 57(7), 56-59. Online. Available: http://vweb.hwwilsonweb.com/cgi-bin/webspirs.cgi In a 1998 study of effective British principals, school staffs agreed that successful heads were values-led, people- centered, achievement-oriented, inward/outward facing, and able to manage ongoing tensions and dilemmas: leadership/management, development /maintenance, autocracy/autonomy, personal time/professional tasks, personal values/institutional imperatives, and power with /power over. Achievement,
Administrator Characteristics,
Administrator Effectiveness,
Coping,
Elementary Secondary Education,
Ethics,
Foreign Countries,
Interpersonal Competence,
Leadership Qualities,
Principals,
Professional Autonomy,
Stress Management,
Values
Doscher, S., & Normore, A. H. (2005). Feminine concepts of leadership and power: A new framework for development ethics and education development. Paper presented at the 4th Annual College of Education Research Conference. Miami, Florida. April, 2005.
Duquette, L. (2003, October). The effect of a formal educational process on the formation of professional ethics. Paper presented at the 8th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, Nittany Lion Inn, University Park, Pennsylvania. Ethics in educational leadership has gained prominence as a field of scholarly pursuit, as evidenced by this conference, as well as the plethora of journal articles and books. It has also increased in importance in the training of educational leaders, as indicated by the addition of ethics courses in degree programs, as well as standards set by ISLLC (Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2001). In classrooms and articles, students, readers and authors wrestle with various ethical theories or frames in the quest of becoming an ethical leader. This paper contends that contemporary ethical approaches in school leadership leave the social construction of children as unproblematic. These theories ignore school administrator power to define children through the filters of adult experience and needs. This paper will critically examine these constructs and their underlying values revealing that contemporary ethical theories serve to justify doing what is best for adults, not children. Adults;
Children;
Educational leadership;
Ethical theories;
Ethics;
ISLLC standards;
School administrators;
Standards
Ehrensal, P.A. (2002, October). Are we doing what is best for the children? Towards a radical ethical critique. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, University of Toronto. “Disciplinarian or Intimidator” describes a confrontation between an assistant principal and an eighth grade student in the school’s hallway. The confrontation escalates into a physical altercation, because of aggressive behavior from both sides. This dilemma will focus on the assistant principal’s professional ethical behavior and his disciplinary tactics when dealing with violent students. Discipline and violence in schools are significant issues that receive widespread public attention. “Disciplinarian or Intimidator” is an example of moderate turbulence in schools today. In this tension-filled situation, there are personal, professional, school-wide, communitywide, and legal consequences for both the assistant principal and the student. Assistant principal;
Dilemma;
Discipline;
Ethical dilemma;
Ethical behavior;
Turbulence theory
Evers, C.W. (1985) Hodgkinson on ethics and the philosophy of administration. Educational Administration Quarterly. 21(1), 27-50.
Evers, C.W. (1992) Ethics and ethical theory in educative leadership — A pragmatic and holistic approach. In Duignan, P.A. & MacPherson, R.J.S. (Eds.) Educative leadership. London: Falmer Press.
Evers, C.W. (1996) Essentialism, natural kinds and ethical leadership. Paper delivered at The Toronto Conference on Values and Educational Leadership. OISE / UT.
Faircloth , S.C. & Tippeconnic, J.W. (2004) Ethical Conduct of Research in American Indian Education: Confronting Issues of Access, Methodology, and Use. Paper delivered at 9th Annual Values & Leadership Conference, Southern Palms Resort – Barbados. Educational sociology;
Social values;
Values
Fairholm, G. (1991). Values leadership: Toward a New Philosophy of Leadership. New York: Praeger. As members of the academy, we must be responsive to the demand to be productive scholars who are actively engaged in the conduct of research; however, as Native researchers, we are increasingly cognizant of the ethical dilemmas engendered by the conduct of search research. These issues include, but are not limited to access, methodology and use of research findings. This paper, a response to these dilemmas, calls for a reconceptualization of the conduct of research in American Indian Education to include tribal review and approval of research, use of Native/Indigenous research methodologies, translation and dissemination of research findings to the communities and individuals of interest in these studies.
Farb, R. (2002, October). Expert Learning within an ethical school. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, University of Toronto.
Figura, M. (2002, October). An administrator’s role: disciplinarian or intimidator? Paper presented at the 7th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, University of Toronto.

The intent of this paper is twofold: The first and primary objective is to explore theoretically the ethical source for a definitive, absolute distinction in leadership character – primarily those virtues that constitute positive interpersonal relations with others. In other words, virtues that are figured to be essentially relational in nature, rather than those character qualities that are commonly understood as private or intellectual virtues, will be considered. This aim is positioned within a long standing ethic of justice tradition later to be elaborated and tested along the lines of virtue theory, natural law theory, and deontological moral realism. Classical philosophical and theological writings will serve as a starting point for this study (Aristotle, ~334-323 BCE [1989]; Aquinas, ~1272 [1975]) and lead to more contemporary considerations (Kant, 1785 [1998]; Bradley, 1927; Grisez, 1983; Finnis, 1980; MacIntyre, 1981; George, 2001) including those within a community of discourse as it relates to educational ethics in particular (Strike & Soltis, 1985; Strike, Haller, Soltis, 1998; Campbell, 2003).

As a second or tandem aim, realizing that even though the exploration of virtues and moral proclivity can be a worthy academic exercise, fulfilling in itself, for the principal it is a necessity to possess certain interpersonal or relational virtues for the organizational success of any school. Practically speaking, those who do not possess certain qualities of moral virtue will not succeed in leading an educational enterprise. Right decisions are more likely to follow from right character. It is hoped that a careful theoretical argument will assist in clarifying those perfect and best dispositions that must be internalized within a school leader in order for relationships to prosper and grow and as a result provide a foundation on which educational pursuits are realized.

Ethic of justice;
Interpersonal virtues;
Leadership character;
Morals
Foster, W. (1996) Post administration: Rediscovering ethics and community in a postmodern world. Paper delivered at The Toronto Conference on Values and Educational Leadership.  OISE.
Frankena, W.K. (1973) Ethics. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Friedman, I.A. (2000, September). School Motivating Values. Paper presented at the 5th Annual Values and Educational Leadership Conference, Bridgetown, Barbados. In this article, I propose the idea of an ethic of community to complement and extend other ethical frames used in education (e.g., the ethics of justice, critique, and care). Proceeding from the traditional definition of ethics as the study of moral duty and obligation, I define ethic of community as the moral responsibility to engage in communal processes as educators pursue the moral purposes of their work and address the ongoing challenges of daily life and work in schools. Thus, an ethic of community centers the communal over the individual as the primary locus of moral agency in schools. In what follows, I first present some background on moral leadership and ethics in education; I then argue that the ethic of community is a needed complement to the other ethical frames typically used in education and show how it is related to achieving the moral purposes of schooling. In other words, I will argue that ethic of community is a vehicle that can synthesize much of the current work on leadership practices related to social justice, democratic community, and other moral purposes of educational leadership. Democratic community;
Education;
Ethic of care;
Ethic of community;
Ethic of critique;
Ethic of justice;
Ethics;
Moral leadership;
Moral purpose;
Social justice
Furman, G.C. (2003, October). The ethic of community. Paper presented at the 8th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, Nittany Lion Inn, University Park, Pennsylvania.
Gordon, M. (2002, October). Standards, testing and educational reform: the politics of false generosity. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, University of Toronto. With Shapiro & Stefkovich (2001) ethical leadership paradigm and Gross’ (1998) Turbulence theory as a backdrop, we are presented with an ethical dilemma that examines the limits to which university administration and professors should intervene in the lives of their students. At one university a professor found out that two of his students had expired student visas and passports. What makes this case even more troubling in post 9/11 era is the fact that one of the students is his brightest and very hardworking. It is evident that this professor finds himself in a quandary as to the best approach. 9-11;
Dilemma;
Ethical leadership;
Ethical dilemma;
September 11;
Turbulence theory
Gutierrez, K.J. (2003, October). Ethical decision making in the admissions process of American higher education. Paper presented at the 8th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, Nittany Lion Inn, University Park, Pennsylvania. Nowhere else are the values of a school as publicly disclosed as in the school motto. School examining boards may additionally choose to evaluate a school’s values in terms of their consistency with published mottos. This paper examines the role that mottos play in the identity and values disclosure of schools, both in North America and abroad. Mottos are also examined in other leadership paradigms, including political identities. Leadership paradigms;
Motto;
Political identity;
Schools;
Values
Halberstam, J. (1993) Everyday ethics: Inspired Solutions to Real-Life Dilemmas. New York: Penguin.
Hart, A. & Bredeson, P. (1996). The principalship. New York: McGraw-Hill. In the current climate of accounting scandals among major firms and executives, the importance of ethical leadership in school business has never been greater. While the business side of schools is relatively unknown to many educators — and even less open to outside scrutiny — it can also provide many temptations. School business officials (SBOs) face potential ethical dilemmas within the financial, legal, personnel, and professional areas of school district operations. This book can help SBOs incorporate ethical considerations into the myriad decisions that occur in the everyday operations of a school district. It sets out multiple ethical frameworks that deal with often-competing perspectives on “what should be done” across a range of issues confronting SBOs. And, it includes models based on what is just, caring, and inclusive of all voices, as well as community expectations, and standards set forth by professional associations. Accounting;
Business officials;
Decision-making;
Ethics;
Ethical decision-making;
Ethical dilemmas;
Ethical leadership
Hartman, W. & Stefkovich, J. (2005). Ethics for School Business Officials. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Heslep, R.D. (Feb. 1997) The practical value of philosophical thought for the ethical dimension of education. Educational Administration Quarterly. Thousand Oaks.
Hodgkinson, C. (1986) The value bases of administrative action and administration theory.  Research in Education. This paper proposes a method for understanding the relationships among the various value systems that underlie administrative thinking. The system takes into account the psychological faculties affecting ethical decisions, the philosophical orientations involved, and distinctions between the concepts of “right” and “good.” The paper opens with comments on the increasing concern over the character of the values currently underlying administrative practice. The paper then reviews the importance of using language clearly, distinguishing between the associations and assumptions attached to the language used to describe things and events, on one hand, and the actual nature of the things and events described, on the other. The paper makes its central proposal next, differentiating among value systems based in religion, existentialism, pragmatism, humanism, positivism, hedonism, and other belief systems; and among these systems’ bases in the will, in reasoning or thinking, and in emotion. The paper then examines the roles of free will and determinism in these value systems, asserting that some degree of choice is available to administrators and that this choice should be exercised in the form of voluntary commitment to a value system. Noting that education is intrinsically philosophical, the paper asserts that society cannot be content with antiphilosophical educators.
Hospers, J. (1989) Human conduct: Problems of ethics. Toronto: Harcourt Brace.
Johnson, K. (2004, October). Ethics in education: a case study AIDS in the classroom. Paper presented at the 9th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, Southern Palms Resort, Christ Church, Barbados.
Jones, J. (2003, October). The ethical dilemma of teaching alternative theories to the origins of life. Paper presented at the 8th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, Nittany Lion Inn, University Park, Pennsylvania. In this paper, I propose a different kind of pragmatism. Rather than focusing on the common usage of the term “pragmatic,” I will propose an ethical method based in the philosophical writings of John Dewey, where values and context are instrumental in constructing solutions to any given messy dilemma. First, I will detail the method and how it accounts for such ethical questions as values versus utility. Next, I will present a sketch of a “real-life” leadership dilemma to illustrate how the method might work. Finally, I will suggest a way that such an approach to ethics, rather than increasing relativism in leadership, can actually result in a more values-based approach to dilemmas. Dewey;
Ehtical dilemma;
Ethical questions;
John Dewey;
Pragmatism;
Values
Kidder, R. & Born, P. (Dec./Jan.1999) Resolving Ethical Dilemmas in the Classroom. ASCD Educational Leadership.
Kolb, J., Frisque, D., & Lin, H. (2004, October). Ethics in the curriculum. Paper presented at the 9th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, Southern Palms Resort, Christ Church, Barbados. In a world where efficiency and speed, worth and productivity are values based on economic parameters, ethical considerations and the mastery required to exercise them can be perceived as a hindrance. It is true that the field of ethics is a complex reality consisting of several intricate levels and layers as presented in numerous papers, be they of a philosophical, psychological, medical or emerging moral theoretical slant. To rely solely on a political, administrative and legal rationale in order to solve complex problems seems to constitute, for some decision-makers, a form of reductionism which can leave an unsettling wake in the workplace. Furthermore, at a time in history when humanistic values permeate our universe of rights and freedoms, it is obvious that these protections are largely dependent on the quality of our judgment and on the conscientiousness of the individual or group making the decisions. Administrative;
Efficiency;
Ethics;
Humanistic values;
Legal;
Political;
Values
Kramer, B.H. (2002, October). Working the messy ethical dilemma: A pragmatic leadership method. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, University of Toronto.
Lakomski, G. (October 1996) Against leadership: Concept without a cause. Paper delivered at The Toronto Conference: Values and Educational Leadership, Toronto. This dissertation has a dual purpose: empirical verification of the Hodgkinson value paradigm and an investigation of this typology in the commitment of individuals to organizations. Hodgkinson’s hierarchical model postulates three logically distinct categories of value based behaviour: transrational, rational, subrational. Transrational (Type I) is faith/will based. Rational is logic based (Type IIA) and consensual based (Type IIB). Subrational (Type III) is pleasure based. Four hypotheses were developed and tested using qualitative methods. Primary data are interviews with eight individuals, two from each of four organizations, identified by senior officials (gatekeepers) as being highly committed to their respective organizations. Selection of organizations was based on data from eight experts in organizational behaviour who gave unanimous/majority judgments in classifying 36 organizations in the context of the value paradigm. Five judges evaluated interview protocols from the same perspective and achieved a 65% hit rate with data from experts. Other sample groups (teachers, nurses, secretaries, university students) similarly evaluated statements of organization ideology and organization purpose, as generated by gatekeepers from the four organizations. Data support hypotheses that ideology of organizations and individuals’ commitment to organizations can be classified according to Hodgkinson’s value typology (major hypotheses); that organization ideology is a function of organization purpose and that individuals’ commitment to organizations is a congruent function of organization ideology (minor hypotheses). Results imply commitment to organizations is fundamentally value based but complex: when more than one value system is involved, the dominant influence is consistent with the hierarchical order of the paradigm. There was no evidence of reverse order effect. Qualitative methods appear necessary to discern this complex structure. Of particular significance to administrators is that as type of value commitment is commensurate with values of organization, the inculcation of commitment must proceed from socialization processes reflecting those values. This is fundamental praxis: the integration of values with the discharge of administrative behaviour. Administrator Characteristics, Administrator Responsibility, Administrator Role, Elementary Secondary Education, Ethics, Integrity, Leadership, Leadership Qualities, Leadership Styles, Moral Values
Langlois, L. (2004). Responding Ethically: Complex Decision-making by School District Superintendents. International Studies Educational Administration Management. ( 32)2.
Langlois, L. & Starratt, J. (2004). Decisional-making among public school superintendents in Quebec: Monitoring an emerging process of ethical authenticity. In Shields, C. (Eds.). Against the Grain: Spirituality and educational leadership. Lancaster, PA: Pro Active Publications.
Langlois, L. & Starratt, R. (2003, October). Decisional-making among public school superintendents in Québec: monitoring an emerging process of ethical authenticity. Paper presented at the 8th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, Nittany Lion Inn, University Park, Pennsylvania. This paper will focus on the genesis of patriarchal paradigms and their impact on all facets of educational theory and practice. It analyzes the effect of patriarchal paradigms on decisionmaking and knowledge construction, and the implication of these effects on school systems, governance and curricula. Finally, it will extrapolate possibilities to assist in changing attitudes, and concomitantly, the ecosystem that schools are part of: to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in a pluralistic and multicultural society. Decision-making;
Diversity;
Equity;
Inclusion;
Multi-cultural society;
Patriarchal paradigms
Lashway, L. (1996) Ethical Leadership. Univ. of Oregon: ERIC, Digest 107 (online).
Lobb, W. M. (1993). Hodgkinson’s values model: A question of ethical applicability. Unpublished master’s thesis. University of Western Ontario. London: Ontario.