DEVELOPING A PERSONAL APPROACH TO ETHICS

As the principal of an elementary school with 300 students in preschool through fifth grade, you
supervise fifteen teachers, a librarian, and a guidance counselor. Parents and other citizens have been supportive
of the district in terms of passing tax levy and bond issue referendums. The school district experienced
significant growth in the 1950s and 1960s, but it experienced a decrease in student population in the 1970s and
1980s.
This decrease was due to the fact that the houses in the district had appreciated in value to the point that
younger families with children could not afford to buy homes in the district, and the empty nesters did not have
any interest in leaving the district because their home mortgages were paid up. This situation caused the school
district to lose enrollment, which in turn forced the district to lay off younger teachers. The remaining
administrators, teachers, and support personnel have become rather set in their ways and needed staff
development programs and a performance-based evaluation process that would help them renew their
enthusiasm and bring them up to date on current best practice in administering and teaching children. The local
teachers’ association had endorsed the need of the district to rethink its staff development commitment and
programming. The administrators and teachers had a positive attitude toward this goal and were ready and
willing to participate in staff development. It was obvious to the board of education and the superintendent of
schools, however, that there were some teachers who were not interested in improving their instructional
methodology or in learning best practice in updating the curriculum. The board of education thus mandated the
development of a new performance-based evaluation process that focused more directly on the learning
instructional process from a learning community perspective. Also, the board of education mandated the review
and updating of the employee termination process to focus on the accountability of administrators in initiating
more effective due process procedures. One of your third-grade teachers has been opposed to the new evaluation
policy and process because she has been teaching in your school for twenty-five years and believes that she is an
excellent teacher. This is not your professional assessment of her performance. You have developed a
performance improvement plan that she has also resisted. You have been trying to convince her that it is in her
best interest to retire, but she also refuses to consider retirement because she has an ill husband who had to quit
his job and has no health insurance. He relies on the teacher’s health insurance program to receive treatment for
a very serious heart problem. You are hesitant to begin the termination process with the teacher because her
husband needs the medical insurance coverage, which would be prohibitively expensive if she quits or is
terminated because his heart problem is a preexisting condition. What are the ethical issues in this scenario?
What should the principal do?

THE DYNAMICS OF ETHICS

This chapter is divided into two main sections. The first section, The Dynamics of Ethics, explains
various concepts and ideas that will be helpful to educational leaders and those planning a career in educational
leadership as they seek out and develop their own personal ethical system. The second section, The Search for
Meaning in Life, attempts to establish a framework within which educational leaders and those preparing to
become educational leaders can reflect on the search for meaning given the ideas and concepts presented in the
first section of the chapter. Pose the following question to any educational leader: Are you conscious? He or she
probably would respond yes, with great reservation concerning the motive of the questioner. Most people would
react this way or would suspect that a punch line was sure to follow. Yet this is the seminal question that must
be addressed in any discussion about personal ethics. Of course, the context within which the term
consciousness is being used here refers to the process of reflection that is absolutely necessary if an individual is
to develop a personal ethical approach to being an educational leader. This section begins by setting forth a
foundational approach to ethical norms. The first part incorporates the insights of Teilhard de Chardin on
evolution and delineates the context of ethical norms as emerging from a revised worldview that radically alters
the concept of natural law. This section proceeds with a discussion of social ethics, which is pertinent because of
the social dimension of educational leadership. Next is a treatment of consequences, which situates the remnants
of unethical actions and leads to an explication of the four moral virtues. This section ends with an explanation
of various methods for making ethical decisions.
 Ethical Norms
Educational leadership must be situated within the context of all other human activities because it is
impossible to isolate the responsibilities of leadership from other human responsibilities. It is the total
personwho administers educational programs. From this perspective, the insights of contemporary astronomy
and the new physics are of particular interest. These insights have renewed attention to the evolutionary process,
which has much to say about the antecedents and future experiences of every person. Of course, the touchstone
for the presentation here is educational leadership.
Teilhard de Chardin.
An understanding of human evolution is the key to understanding the ethical issues that have been and
will continue to be unleashed with great magnitude on the unsuspecting educational leader. Scientists recognize
that evolution proceeds from the simple to the more complex: electron to atom, atom to molecule, molecule to
cell, cell to organism, inferior organism to humans. This is the law of continuity. Further, evolution is governed
by the law of design:
The growth in complexity does not mean merely an accumulation of elements; rather, when a certain
degree of complexity has been reached, evolution must proceed to a new plane in order for the process to
continue. Thus, a real metamorphosis occurs—a necessary discontinuity within the necessary continuity
of evolution.1Teilhard de Chardin, the noted paleontologist and philosopher, postulated a concept, which he
termed spirit-matter, that was a stumbling block for many scholars during his lifetime but that has gained many
supporters since his death in 1955. Spirit-matter is the stuff from which everything in the entire universe is
formed. Matter and spirit are not two separate concepts; they are inseparable and present at the most elementary
physical level. As an example, humanity possesses the spiritual potential to exercise freedom; according to
Chardin’s reasoning, because humanity evolved from other, nonhuman forms, and because of the continuity of
the evolutionary process, these forms must have possessed elements of freedom.2 The greatest discontinuity,
then, occurred with the appearance of humanity, which ushered in the spirit endowed with thought, reflection,
and liberty. Thus, human consciousness emerged and began a new evolutionary process toward ever-greater
complexity and consciousness. Once this process began, it became irreversible and subject to the laws of
continuity and design. Thus, the evolution of humanity will eventually reach a critical point of complexity,
which will necessitate ascendance to a higher plane.3 Evolution always succeeds in safeguarding previous stages
of development, the synthesis that evolution produces. Therefore, spirit not only will remain but will also move
forward to a new plane. Only speculation is possible as the future is contemplated, but it is certain that the social
aspect of humanity will also be affected by future evolution. Consciousness necessitates a greater awareness of
the interrelatedness of social experience and the need for better communication among human beings; thus the
emergence of communicative technology. In fact, all technology has an effect, direct or indirect, on
communication, which accounts for the recognition that there is a communication component to most human
problems.4 The question of human freedom arises in any discussion of evolution because of the inherent issue of
the biological determinants of evolution. Teilhard de Chardin pointed out in the Phenomenon of Man that
humanity became a new form of biological life that had certain characteristics: the emergence of internal
arrangements above the factors of external arrangements in individual life, the appearance of true forces of
attraction and repulsion (sympathy and antipathy), the awareness of an aptitude to foresee the future and thus the
consciousness of a state of absolute irreversibility.5

The Context of Ethical Norms.

From the wellspring of evolved human consciousness flows the context within which ethical norms are
identified. Thought, reflection, and liberty constitute the essence of consciousness, which is operationalized
through human experience, understanding, and judgement; hence, the emergence of ethical norms. The
evolutionary perspective revealed through research and scholarship has ushered in a new vision that compels
humanity to reevaluate previous ethical norms. For the sake of clarification, the previous perspective will be
designated the classical worldview and the current perspective will be designated the modern worldview.6 The
classical worldview sees the world as a finished product and holds that the experiences of people will allow
them to grasp a clear understanding of immutable essences. Therefore, people can have a high degree of
certitude that ethical principles will remain valid forever. The true path to right conduct can be formulated using
universal principles and a deductive method that will yield secure and complete conclusions. Individuals with
this viewpoint emphasize preestablished norms and conformity to authority, as well as duty and obligation. The
modern worldview sees the world as dynamic and evolving, hallmarked by progressive growth and change; the
experiences of people allow them to identify individual traits within concrete and historical particulars. The path
to right conduct is primarily through induction from specific experiences. Some conclusions may change with
an increase in knowledge. Thus, incompleteness and error are possible and could lead to a revision of principles.
This viewpoint emphasizes responsibility and adaptation to changing times.7 These two perspectives are
presented here in their purest form. However, most people would agree that the prudent approach to developing
ethical norms lies somewhere in the middle. Plagiarism by a student, the faking of an injury by a school staff
member in order to receive worker’s compensation benefits, sexual harassment of a teacher by a principal, and
refusal of a teacher to help a student

who is failing are examples of unethical conduct that will always be unethical. However, psychology,
sociology, and philosophy admonish educational leaders to use understanding and kindness when dealing with
people who have committed these wrongs. Circumstances may diminish their culpability. Certainly some form
of disciplinary action must follow from such conduct, but a one-fits-all disciplinary approach can also be
unethical. The modern worldview is most compelling when educational leaders face
policy issues, such as what constitutes a just wage for teachers or what is the right of students to the use of
computers for instruction.
Natural Law.
Perhaps the most misunderstood concept in ethical discourse is the concept of natural law. The confusion
lies in thinking that natural law is synonymous with law of nature. The notion of natural law does not refer to a
codified body of precepts; rather, natural law, used in its widest sense, refers to the parameters that define the
milieu of being, what follows from the essential nature of humanity. Natural law should not be identified with
physical, chemical, or biological laws, which explain how the natural world works.8 When some people observe
the conception, growth, and development of nonhuman life, they project on human life the laws governing these
phenomena—a practice usually referred to as physicalism. Yet the presentation of human evolution has
underscored the uniqueness of humanity in relation to nature. If we observe the behavior of primates, such as
gorillas and chimpanzees, from a law-of-nature perspective, the projection to humans would be that when males
and females reach the age of puberty, they pass into the realm of adulthood and therefore they are expected to
procreate. Given the cultural, economic, educational, legal, and social milieus of contemporary western society,
such a practice would be disastrous. The jargon for this situation is “children raising children.” With most
animals, the female is the primary caregiver for newborns, whereas with humans, caregiving is often shared by
both parents, other family members, and even family friends. Shared caregiving allows women to continue with
their careers. When a woman is a single parent, shared caregiving allows her to keep a job and earn a living. The
economic and quality-of-life benefits to society from the employment of women as professionals, researchers,
and in the general workforce also cannot be overestimated. Thus, humanity does not and should not adhere to
the law of nature but must help mold and adhere to the natural law. Although it is extremely difficult to define
natural law, it is possible to set forth certain ideas to help clarify the role that natural law plays in our ethical
decision making. ◆ Natural law is discovered through discourse, research, and reflection on
humanity. Thus, rationality is the foundation of the natural law inherent to human beings. Humanity is always
mysterious, not only because it is evolving but also because it is affected by history and culture.9 ◆ There are
levels within natural law. The most general tenet of natural law is do good and avoid evil, which for most people
is self-evident and requires only common sense.
However, more complex issues require more deliberation, often involving dialogue and study. For
example, the issue concerning the educational rights of children with disabilities and how their rights affect the
rights of nondisabled peers requires a great deal of involvement by many people, including students, parents,
teachers, and administrators. Researchers and scholars in other disciplines, such as law, medicine, political
science, psychology, and sociology, should also be consulted.10 ◆ Deliberation concerning natural law must take
into account the social dimension of humanity. Everything humans do probably has some effect on others, if not
immediately, then at some time in the future. The enactment of a zero-tolerance policy calling for the expulsion
of students who possess, use, or sell drugs in school would probably keep drugs out of the hands of some
students but would deprive the expelled students of an education if an alternative school program was not
available. ◆ Using the tenets of natural law allows all people to enter into rational debate concerning our
collective humanity, which is critical in a pluralistic society. Thus, school-attendance policies, student-
achievement goals, and teachers’ rights and responsibilities can be publicly debated without
offending particular groups.11 Natural law thus extends beyond physical, chemical, and biological precepts to
include the social, spiritual, and psychological aspects of human existence. Nature provides the material people
use to promote the well-being of humanity; through the use of reason, people reflect on what natural law
requires. The correct approach, however, must take into account certain givens of human existence that
contribute to the well-being of humans, such as living in harmony with members of the community and, as
educational leaders, working in harmony with colleagues. It is equally important not to attribute the givens of
human nature as beyond the control of human creativity. The use of reason as the vehicle for knowing the
natural law must be understood as the capability within the person to understand reality in relation to human
experience. People must use observations, human testimony, research, analysis, logic, intuition, common sense,
art, film, music, poetry, theater, and so on, to understand reality. Two caveats should be considered as
individuals exercise their right to discover the natural law and to apply it to particular ethical issues: (1)
Reason’s grasp of reality is always partial and limited, and (2) reason is limited by a person’s capability,
emotions, and cultural conditioning.
In conclusion, there are four aspects to the development of ethical norms: 1. It is the responsibility of
each person, and also of the community in the aggregate, to search for what is ethically good. 2. Norms should
emerge from our experience of what it means to be truly human. 3. Norms should recognize the unfinished
evolutionary character of humanity and the world.