Exploring ethical dilemmas for principals arising from role conflict with school counsellors

Abstract

Acting in the best interests of students is central to the moral and ethical work of schools. Yet tensions can arise between principals and school counsellors as they work from at times opposing professional paradigms. In this article we report on principals’ and counsellors’ responses to scenarios covering confidentiality and the law, student/teacher relationships, student welfare and psychological testing of students. This discussion takes place against an examination of ethics, ethical dilemmas and professional codes of ethics. While there were a number of commonalities among principals and school counsellors that arose from their common belief in education as a moral venture, there were also some key differences among them. These differences centred on the principals’ focus on the school as a whole and counsellors’ focus on the welfare of the individual student. A series of recommendations is offered to assist principals to navigate ethical dilemmas such as those considered in this article.

Communication Factors as Predictors of Relationship Quality: A National Study of Principals and School Counselors

“…Researchers have suggested that a strong relationship between a principal and school counselor helps principals to understand the school counselor's role more clearly, possibly leading to greater programmatic alignment, improved services, and higher student achievement (Dahir et al, 2011). Pointing to role and foci differences, Kimber and Campbell (2013) found that discrepancies existed between principals' and school counselors' interpretations of ethical dilemmas and recommended that a stronger relationship between the two roles could assist in aligning viewpoints. Differences on programmatic views between school counselors and principals were also found by McCotter and Cohen (2013).…”

“…The widespread influence of the principal-school counselor relation-ship is well supported. The topics explored relate relationship quality to school counselor burnout (Gündüz, 2012;Wilkerson & Bellini, 2006), efficacy (Atici, 2014), job satisfaction (Clemens et al, 2009;Kolodinsky et al, 2009;Pyne, 2011), role conflict and ambiguity (Cervoni & Delucia-Waack, 2011;Dahir et al, 2011;Kimber & Campbell, 2013;Zalaquett & Chatters, 2012), and role definition (Amatea & Clark, 2005;Armstrong et al, 2010;Dodson, 2009;Dollarhide et al, 2007;Fitch, Newby, Ballestero, & Marshall, 2001;Henderson, 1999;Janson et al, 2008;Kimber & Campbell, 2013;Kolodinsky et al, 2009;MacDonald et al, 2008;Niebuhr et al, 1999;Perera-Diltz & Mason, 2008;Ponec & Brock, 2000;Pyne, 2011;Wilmore, 1993;Zalaquett & Chatters, 2012). Thus, identifying the components that promote a highquality relationship between school principals and counselors could significantly and positively impact these aforementioned facets of a school counselor's job.…”

Secondary School Counselors’ Perceptions of Service-Learning: Gaps between State Policy, Counselors’ Knowledge, and Implementation

“…Megan Kimber and Marilyn Campbell (2014) (in tandem with Cinotti, 2014;Hann-Morrison, 2011;Karatas & Kaya, 2015) postulated that the differences in the responsibilities between principals and other administrators compared to school counselors could add to some of the role stress experienced by school counselors. In particular, these researchers studied ethical dilemmas faced by principals and school counselors and reported that, although both parties approached dilemmas morally, they had a different viewpoint or perspective on whom they served (Kimber & Campbell, 2014). Principals and other administrators focused on the school as a whole, whereas school counselors tended to focus on individuals.…”

The relationship between principals’ perceptions of school practices and student achievement in science: The implicit ethical meaning of the TIMSS

“…It is increasingly important to examine principals’ perceptions of school practices that have ethical meaning through a transnational perspective, since we are aware that ethics constitute an integral component of educational leadership (Gross and Shapiro, 2015; Hammersley-Fletcher, 2015; Kimber and Campbell, 2014). By learning from the successes and failures of others, by means of transnational studies in educational leadership, we can significantly improve comparable educational systems (Leithwood and Hallinger, 2012; Marfan and Pascual, 2018).…”