Education Leaders’ Perceptions of Faculty Ethical Decision Making: Awareness, Learning, and Change

Education leaders are charged with the task of upholding an ethical working and learning environment. Observations of the processes faculty at their school site employ in ethical decision making throughout the school day led to a deeper understanding of school culture, thus creating a systemic change. This exploratory case study based on systems thinking grounded in the stories shared by education leaders. Data was gathered through phone interviews with ten education leaders. Without this data, education leaders may not fully understand the role and relationship of faculty to the importance of making sound ethical decisions for the betterment of the school community (Schulte et al., 2002). Based on insights and knowledge acquired in observing faculty at their respective school sites, education leaders gained a deeper understanding of what is needed to improve ethical decision making and school culture. The findings revealed education leaders need to do a better job of employing an awareness of authentic self, willingness to learn, and seek innovative change to their leadership style to forge honest discussions and gain faculty trust. References: Schulte, L. E., Thompson, F., Talbott, J., Luther, A., Garcia, M., Blanchard, S., & ... Mueller, M. (2002). The Development and Validation of the Ethical Climate Index for Middle and High Schools. The School Community Journal, 12(2), 117-132