Ethical Reasoning of Educational Administrators: Structuring Inquiry around the Problems of Practice
| Date | 01 April 1992 |
| Published date | 01 April 1992 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09578239210020462 |
| Author | Peggy C. Kirby,Louis V. Paradise,Russell Protti |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Ethical
Reasoning
25
Ethical Reasoning of
Educational Administrators:
Structuring Inquiry around the
Problems of Practice
Peggy C. Kirby, Louis V. Paradise
University of New Orleans
and
Russell Protti
Jefferson Parish Louisiana Public Schools, USA
In its report,
Leaders
for
America's
Schools,
the National Commission for
Excellence in Educational Administration[1] noted that programmes designed
to train administrators were "unconnected to the issues which administrators
were engaged in resolving" (p.50). Among its recommendations for licensure,
the Commission called for development of
and
adherence to a professional code
of ethics. Elsewhere, commitment to ethical standards has been recognized
recently as
a
key component of the development of educational administrators[2,3].
Courses in ethics are rare
in
educational administration
programmes.
Debate
exists over whether
to
integrate ethical issues
into all
courses or
to
teach ethics
as a separate course. The significance of such discussion pales in comparison
with the virtual non-existence of related resources. The case study approach
to teaching ethics has been common in other disciplines [4,5,6] but casebooks
for educational administration are not readily available. The recent
Ethics of
School Administration[7]
is a notable exception. Used in conjunction with a
professional code of ethics and background knowledge of ethical theory, case
studies enable prospective administrators (students) to examine the moral
conflicts endemic to the profession and to evaluate their own level of moral
reasoning. Thus examination of specific cases allows the student to test
theoretical understanding against the dilemmas which are likely to be faced in
practice.
Moral Conflict
Moral dilemmas, according to Strike
et al.[7]
are situations which concern what
is right or just, cannot be settled simply
by
knowledge of
the
facts, and involve
conflicting moral principles. For example, principals often experience moral
conflict when dealing with questions of teacher competence. What is best for
students may conflict with what is fair to the teacher. Whereas it is a simple
matter to apply an ethical guideline such as "[making] the wellbeing of students
the fundamental
value
of
all
decision making"
[8]
in cases of gross incompetence,
moral conflict results because competence is subjectively defined. Many
educators view teacher evaluation as imprecise and highly subjective. They must
Journal of Educational
Administration, Vol. 30 No. 4,
1992.
pp. 25-32. © MCB
University Press, 0957-8234
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