Considerations for Ethical Leadership and Decision-Making
Educational leaders employ decision-making in their day-to-day processes and practices,
whether or not the decision-making is conducted with intentionality or follows professional
and personal codes of ethics. Specific ethics, such as professionalism, democracy, care,
inclusion, due process, justice, and social justice are embedded in the administrator’s
personal or professional codes of ethics and leadership.
The study revealed everyday practices and perspectives of leaders in a large, diverse
suburban school district with a diverse student and family population. By investigating
dilemmas of ethical processes and practices surrounding justice and equity in P-12 schools
to advance administrator practice and administrator preparation, we confirmed the
importance of several, newer dimensions of leadership preparation. The study confirmed
prior research and added some new insights, revealing the importance to school
administrators of: (1) ethical relationship, including trust and integrity (McCabe, 2013)
together with cultural proficiency and understanding. Culture in school learning (Hollins,
2008; 2011; 2012; 2012a) is necessary to build trust and integrity in school administrators’