Florida Educational Leadership Standard 10: Ethical Leadership
Florida Educational Leadership Standards
Standard 10: Ethical Leadership
Standard 10: Ethical Leadership – High Performing Leaders act with integrity, fairness, and
honesty in an ethical manner.
Knowledge
I have the knowledge and understanding of:
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The purpose of education and the role of leadership in modern society
Various ethical frameworks and perspectives on ethics
The values of the diverse school community
Professional codes of ethics
The philosophy and history of education
Dispositions
I believe in, value and am committed to:
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The ideal of the common good
The principles in the Bill of Rights
The right of every student to a free, quality education
Bringing ethical principles to the decision-making process
Subordinating one’s own interest to the good of the school community
Accepting the consequences for upholding one’s principles and actions
Using the influence of one’s office constructively and productively in the service of all
students and their families
Development of a caring school community
Skills
Throughout my internship experience and coursework at FGCU I have learned and evidenced
through integrated essays and artifacts the following list. As an administrator I will facilitate
processes and engage in activities ensuring that:
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The environment in which schools operate is influenced on behalf of students and their
families
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Florida Educational Leadership Standard 10: Ethical Leadership
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Communication occurs among the school community concerning trends, issues, and
potential changes in the environment in which schools operate
The school community works within the framework of policies, laws, and regulations
enacted by local, state, and federal authorities
Public policy is shaped to provide quality education for students
Lines of communication are developed with decision makers outside the school
community
Florida Educational Leadership Standard 10: Ethical Leadership
“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity
asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there
comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but
one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
During my research of ethics in educational leadership, I came across this quote in the
opening of the book Power, Politics, and Ethics in Schools Districts (Duffy, 2006). It made me
think about human beings, heartache, injustice, tough decisions, and standing up for what you
believe in. In fact, it made me emotional. I guide my life by the eight global values of love,
truth, fairness, freedom, unity, tolerance, responsibility, and respect. I believe these core
values are so strong within my being that they have brought me to the leadership profession,
where I can utilize my strengths to give my contributions to the world.
Ethical leadership begins with one’s individual morals, values, and ethics. We live our lives
based on what we’ve been taught was right. Morals, are the principles of what we believe to
Florida Educational Leadership Standard 10: Ethical Leadership
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be right or wrong that are shown through our actions. Values are our beliefs and judgments of
what is wrong and right. Ethics encompasses ones morals and values to present a set of
principles that guide the conduct of individuals or groups (FLDOE, 2006).
In the course Organizational Development I was asked to develop a set of belief statements
on leadership and organizational development. The driving factor behind these belief
statements is my own personal morals, values, and ethics. They can be read here
Artifact 10-1 Game
Plan Belief Statements.docx
.
Professional ethics define appropriate conduct for members of a professional organization.
Educational leaders must act with professional integrity when faced with moral and ethical
dilemmas in their organization. Professional integrity is the adherence to a code of professional
conduct, even with it does not agree with one’s own individual values. In education this means
putting the needs of students and parents before our own personal needs (FLDOE, 2006).
In the class Policy Development I was asked to observe a school board meeting and reflect
on the practice of policy. Also evident in this meeting was the projection of professional ethics
by the school board members.
Artifact 10-2 School
Board Meeting Observation.doc
is record of this meeting.
Many organizations have their own written code of ethics and principles of professional
conduct. The Florida Department of Education has published a document title The Code of
Ethics and The Principles of Professional Conduct of the Education Profession in Florida. The
Florida Educational Leadership Standard 10: Ethical Leadership
Code of Ethics of The Education Profession in Florida is based on the State Board of Education
Rule 6B-1.001,FAC. The three guiding code of ethics for educators in Florida are:
1. The educator values the worth and dignity of every person, the pursuit of truth,
devotion to excellence, acquisition of knowledge, and the nurture of democratic
citizenship. Essential to the achievement of these standards are the freedom to
learn and to teach and the guarantee of equal opportunity for all.
2. The educator’s primary professional concern will always be for the student and for
the development of the student’s potential. The educator will therefore strive for
professional growth and will seek to exercise the best professional judgment and
integrity.
3. Aware of the importance of maintaining the respect and confidence of one’s
colleagues, of students, of parents, and of other members of the community, the
educator strives to achieve and sustain the highest degree of ethical conduct.
(FLDOE, 2005).
Educators are confronted with moral issues and ethical dilemmas on a regular basis. To be
able to problem solve these dilemmas in an ethical manner educators, both teachers and
administrators, must learn to identify and tell the difference between moral issues and ethical
dilemmas. Understanding this difference, will aid in determining an appropriate strategy for
handling the situation.
Moral issues deal with behavior in which there is a right and wrong answer based on a set
of shared values in an organization. The shared values must be defined through clear
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Florida Educational Leadership Standard 10: Ethical Leadership
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expectations. For teachers, this is the code of ethics and principles of professional conduct
mentioned above. For students this may be a school code of conduct or expectations. Moral
issues, even when it is clear whether or not the behavior is right or wrong, can be multi-layered
and complex (FLDOE, 2006).
In my experience as an educator at Osceola Elementary I have been involved in the writing,
communication, and implementation of school-wide expectations through my membership on
the Positive Behavior Support team. PBS can be applied across systems school-wide, specific,
classroom, or individual but the goal is always the same: that discipline and classroom
management should focus on preventing challenging behavior through proactive interventions
for the development of positive social and learning outcomes (Hendley, 2007). A reflection of
my experience on this team can be found here as
Artifact 10-3 PBS
Committee.doc
.
Ethical dilemmas differ from moral issues in that when analyzing the problem there are two
or more “right” behaviors. In these instances there is a conflict of values. Common ethical
dilemmas include justice vs. mercy, truth vs. loyalty, individual vs. community, and short-term
vs. long-term (FLDOE, 2006).
In order to engage in ethical decision making an effective leader needs strategies to use.
The William Cecil Golden School Leadership Development Program website, recommends two
strategies that have merit in problem solving ethical dilemmas. They are Kidder’s Nine
Checkpoints for Ethical Decision Making and Blanchard & Peale’s Ethics Check Questions.
Florida Educational Leadership Standard 10: Ethical Leadership
Kidder’s Nine Checkpoints for Ethical Decision Making are:
1. Recognize there is a moral issue.
2. Determine the actor/actors.
3. Gather the relevant facts.
4. Test for right vs. wrong issues.
5. Test for right vs. right issues.
6. Apply the resolution principles.
7. Investigate the ‘trilemma’ options.
8. Make the decision.
9. Revisit and reflect on the decision.
Blanchard & Peale’s Ethics Check Questions are:
1. Is it legal? Will actions violate any laws, codes, or constitutional rights?
2. Is it balanced? Is my decision fair to everyone concerned?
3. How will I feel about myself? Will it withstand public scrutiny?
(FLDOE, 2006).
Leaders who are effective in making ethical decision share three qualities:
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Competence to recognize ethical issues and to think through the consequences of
alternative resolutions
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Self-confidence to seek out different points of view and then to decide what is right
at a given time and place, in a particular set of relationships and circumstances
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Florida Educational Leadership Standard 10: Ethical Leadership
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Tough-mindedness- the willingness to make decisions when all that needs to be
known cannot be know and when the questions that press for answers have no
established and incontrovertible solutions.
(Duffy, 2006).
In my first real leadership role, as the fourth grade team leader of Osceola Elementary
School, I was faced with ethical dilemmas that I had to work though as the liaison between our
team and administration. There were difficult situations but guided by my own personal and
the shared professional ethics the experience was successful and valuable. Evidence of this
experience is here
Artifact 10-4 Team
Leader.docx
.
Technology advancements in today’s society are another factor influencing ethical
leadership in education. With advancements in television and broadcasting, as well as the
development of the Internet and wireless technologies such as cell phones and PDA’s, literally
millions of individuals have instant access to communication of the world’s events. Due to this
moral and ethical decisions are being witnessed by millions of individuals who all have differing
viewpoints of morals, values, and ethics (FLDOE, 2006).
Our role today, as ethical school leaders is to make the most of our unique opportunity to
instill and influence shared global values into the hearts of our students. In developing the next
generation we must model and teach the global values through practice and teaching strategies
for making ethical decisions.
Florida Educational Leadership Standard 10: Ethical Leadership
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References
Duffy, F.M. (2006). Power, politics, and ethics in school districts: Dynamic leadership for
systemic change. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Florida Department of Education. (2005). The code of ethics and the principles of professional
conduct of the education profession in Florida.
http://www.flboe.org/edstandards/pdfs/ethics.pdf
Florida Department of Education. (2006). Florida school leaders: The William Cecil Golden
school leadership development program. https://www.floridaschoolleaders.org/
Fowler, F.C. (2004). Policy studies for educational leaders: An introduction (2nd Ed.). Upper
Hendly, S.L. (2007). Use positive behavior support for inclusion in the general education
classroom. Intervention in school and clinic, 42(4), 225-228.
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