Ethical Reasoning of Educational Administrators: Structuring Inquiry around the Problems of Practice

Abstract

Sorts by theme cases involving ethical dilemmas and actions taken in each as described by 23 practising US school administrators in responses to a questionnaire: the majority involved issues of teacher competence. The ethical orientation of the administrators was found to be normally distributed with respect to the five‐level Van Hoose and Paradise model. Only one administrator demonstrated all six components of the moral reasoning described by Howe (1986); most lacked the courage to act on the resolution they preferred. Discusses implications for the selection and training of school administrators.

Citation

Kirby, P.C., Paradise, L.V. and Protti, R. (1992), "Ethical Reasoning of Educational Administrators: Structuring Inquiry around the Problems of Practice", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 30 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578239210020462