Ethical dilemmas: the “bread and butter” of educational leaders' lives
| Date | 01 March 2006 |
| Published date | 01 March 2006 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230610652015 |
| Pages | 106-121 |
| Author | Neil Cranston,Lisa C. Ehrich,Megan Kimber |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Ethical dilemmas: the “bread
and butter” of educational
leaders’ lives
Neil Cranston
School of Education, University of Queensland,
Brisbane, Australia
Lisa C. Ehrich and Megan Kimber
Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on research into the ethical dilemmas faced by
school heads from seven independent schools in Australia.
Design/methodology/approach – Data for the research were gathered by semi-structured in-depth
interviews with the Heads, all of whom were experienced school leaders. All the schools had religious
affiliations.
Findings – The findings are broadly consistent with the conclusions reached in other Australian and
international studies dealing with school leaders which suggest that ethical dilemmas, usually
concerning issues to do with staff or students, are so common now that they have become the “bread
and butter” of educational leaders’ lives. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the
struggles school leaders experience when faced with such dilemmas and the forces at play as they seek
to resolve them Typically, the dilemmas are not about “right” versus “wrong”, but “right” versus
“right” options.
Research limitations/implications – It is clear that the ethical dimensions of the work of school
leaders require further investigation as ethical dilemmas are almost a daily occurrence for them as
they strive to make complex decisions in the best interests of their school communities.
Practical implications – Professional development in the areas of ethics and ethical
decision-making for school leaders is indicated. Problem-based learning offers potential in this regard.
Originality/value – The research reported in the paper adds to, and builds on, the growing body of
research into ethics in education, particularly how ethical issues emerge when school leaders are
required to make complex decisions in contexts where individual, group and organisational interests
may be in conflict.
Keywords Ethics, Educational personnel, Principals, Decision making,Australia
Paper type General review
Introduction
The ethical dimension of leadership has become a key theme in the educational
leadership literature (see for example, Campbell, 2003; Dempster and Berry, 2003;
Starratt, 1996). In the changing and challenging operational environment in which
schools now operate, it is not surprising that educational leaders are often faced with
ethical dilemmas in the course of their daily work as they endeavour to make complex
decisions in the best interests of both staff and students. This article contributes to the
growing literature on ethics and educational leadership by reporting research into the
ethical dilemmas faced by a group of leaders from independent schools in Australia.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-8234.htm
JEA
44,2
106
Received June 2005
Accepted September 2005
Journal of Educational
Administration
Vol. 44 No. 2, 2006
pp. 106-121
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/09578230610652015
The research involved in-depth interviews with the Heads of seven schools with a view
to investigating the extent to which ethical dilemmas are “the bread and butter of
educational leaders’ lives” and to unearth the nature and scope of the dilemmas.
Previous work undertaken by the authors in relation to ethical dilemmas facing retired
senior public service leaders (see Cranston et al., 2003a; Kimber et al., 2003) middle to
senior level public service leaders (Cranston et al., 2005; Ehrich et al., 2004) and
academic leaders (Ehrich et al., 2005) provided the basis for the research approach
utilised in this study. The paper begins by reviewing some of the seminal literature on
ethics and leadership.
Ethics and leadership
The moral and ethical dimensions of leadership have received increasing emphasis in
recent literature (e.g. Campbell, 2003; Chittenden, 2004; Day, 2000; Day et al., 1999;
Dempster and Berry, 2003; Duignan, 2002a; Duignan et al., 2003; Ehrich, 2000; G orman
and Pauken, 2003; Haynes, 1998; Roth, 2003; Starratt, 1996, 2003; Stefkovich and
Poliner Shapiro, 2003; Strike, 2003). In part, this attention has been due to the
increasingly complex context in which leaders work (Cooper, 1998; Cranston, 2002) and
the view that educational leadership is clearly a values-based activity (Walker and
Shakotko, 1999). Hodgkinson (1991, p. 11) goes as far as saying that “values, morals
and ethics are the very stuff of leadership and administrative life”. Communities expect
those holding leadership positions to act justly, rightly and promote good (Evers, 1992)
as well as demonstrate moral and professional accountability (Eraut, 1993; Edwards,
2001). In other words, educational leadership has a moral purpose (Fullan and
Hargreaves, 1991; Green field, 2004) and educator s, leaders included, hav e a
responsibility and duty of care to act in the best interests of both students and staff.
The whole field of ethics is a contested terrain. While some authors describe ethics
in negative terms and stress what it is not (misconduct, corruption, fraud and other
types of illegal behaviour), others use a positive frame and refer to notions of integrity,
honesty and care (e.g. Uhr, 2002; Preston and Sampford, 2002). Nonetheless, there
appears to be general agreement that ethics is about relationships. It “is about what we
ought to do” (Plato in Freakley and Burgh, 2000, p. 97), thus requiring a judgement
about a given situation or circumstance (Haynes, 1998; Duignan et al., 2003). As
Duignan et al. (2003, p. 88. emphasis in original) argue, “[f]or ethics, the concern is with
how people ought to act in response to value conflict and dilemmas. The focus of ethics
is on normative decisions, on what we judge to be the ethically correct thing to do ...”
Ethics, then, could be considered to be about how we ought to live and behave.
Ethical dilemmas
When people find themselves in perplexing situations that necessitate their choosing
among competing sets of principles, values, beliefs or ideals, ethical dilemmas emerge.
Badaracco (1992, p. 66) refers to these competing sets of principles as “spheres of
responsibility” that have the potential to “pull [leaders] in different directions” and thus
create ethical dilemmas for them. Kidder (1995, p. 16) maintains that many of the
ethical dilemmas facing professionals and leaders “don’t centre upon right versus
wrong [but can] involve right versus right” or wrong versus wrong (Hitt, 1990) for that
matter. Yet, within complex contexts and circumstances, it may not be so easy to
discern what the “right” and “wrong” option might be. In fact, Day et al. (1999, p. 15)
Ethical dilemmas
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