Book by Ronald W. Rebore PowerPoint by James Bear The Ethics of Educational Leadership Chapter 1: The Purpose and Structure of this Book

Focus of the book is Standard 5 of the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standard 5 states: “A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner.” This is operationalized through knowledge, dispositions, and performance. Operationalize: to define a concept or variable so that it can be measured or expressed quantitatively. How do you quantify standard 5?

Context of Ethics Ethics is concerned with acquiring knowledge for the purpose of improving conduct Deontological approach: Rightness or Wrongess of Action Teleological approach: Considers goals of action in terms of goodness or badness Which is more easily quantified, deontological decisions or teleological decisions? How does that impact a person’s vision of right and wrong?

Relevance of Ethics to Educational Leadership Ethics require reflection upon core values Ethics require disciplined thought Ethics require the asking of ‘why’. How important is ethics in the running of a school to the administrator that deals primarily with numbers?

Interpreting Philosophical Works and Other Documents Many works have been translated Even works in the native language of a reader are not in the same context of time and culture Creative interpretation makes the text applicable to the modern situation How important is the philosophical or historical document given the assumption that in order to be useful to our modern world it needs to be creatively interpreted?

Other Philosophical Approaches to Material in the Chapter Ethics Uses Reason as Opposed to Religion which uses something not explicitly stated in the text Page 13 says: Often the norms of religious faith are referred to as moral norms, as opposed to ethical norms established through reason. However, these two terms are used interchangeably by philosophers and in common language usage. What’s the difference between religion and ethics?

Ethical Scenario Administrator has had a weekly visit with a handicapped senior citizen that lives across the street from the school for a number of years. Administrator has referred many students to help the senior citizen with tasks over the years. After several years, the senior citizen has revealed to the administrator that he sees himself as a risk in the form of a sexual predator to young boys (the type of student asked to help). No charges have ever been filed. Teleologically (goals of action) or deontologically (action itself)? What action should be taken?