The Principal's Ethical Responsibility and the Parent's Right to Know

Abstract

rightly ordered society, harmonious in its parts and organized for the common good, should be the aim of all educators, according to this writer, who argues that principals should think in terms of what should be good and just for students, parents, and education in a rightly ordered society and not be primarily motivated by oureaucratic dictate.

Diversity, Power and Influence: Multiple Perspectives on the Ethics of School Leadership

“…A review of literature on the ethics of school administration indicates that traditionally discussed ethical dilemmas revolve around critical incidenttype issues such as student placement; teacher free speech rights; distribution of resources; teacher evaluation and dismissal; intellectual freedom; application of rules; alteration of student records; yielding to influential constituents; complying with local, state, or federal regulations; dealing with teacher-parent and teacher-student conflicts; disclosure of sensitive information; nepotism; conflict of interest; and a variety of similar issues (see Ashbaugh and Kasten, 1984;Brennan and Brennan, 1988;Dempsey, Burr, Grady, Perry and Gaucher, 1988;Doggett, 1988;Greenfield, 1985;Harden, 1988;Kimbrough and Nunnery, 1988;Kirby, Paradise, and Protti, 1990;Strike, Haller and Soltis, 1988). Starratt (1991) has described this focus as the "ethics of choices that administrators make in given circumstances" (p. 187).…”

Ethical practice in the work lives of Iowa public high school principals

“…In fact, it was their perception that special education issues topped the list of situations most frequently cited by principals as presenting ethical challenges, specifically, placement decisions, discipline of special education students, and assigning special education-related support services. Parental rights to information was identified as an ethical area that must be addressed conscientiously particularly relating to special education, student discipline, and counseling situations (Harden, 1988).…”