The impact of federal mandates on a high school principal's ethical leadership through the lens of the multi-ethical paradigm

Permanent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20241630
Title:
The impact of federal mandates on a high school principal's ethical leadership through the lens of the multi-ethical paradigm
Creator:
Harrison, John (Author)
Contributor:
Qian, Yufeng (Advisor)
Matthews-Denatale, Gail (Committee member)
Van Buren, Gail (Committee member)
Language:
English
Publisher:
Boston, Massachusetts : Northeastern University, 2017
Date Accepted:
March 2017
Date Awarded:
April 2017
Type of resource:
Text
Genre:
Dissertations
Format:
electronic
Digital origin:
born digital
Abstract/Description:
Ethical leadership has been critical to the success of the educational system. However, school leaders have needed to balance the tension between their personal and professional values with the requirement to adhere to federal mandates, such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Race to the Top Program of 2009. Principals have been aware of their ethical responsibilities to act in the best interest of students yet conflicted interests have emerged which have suggested school leaders did not always act ethically when considering these federal directives. When distrust has existed between school leaders and stakeholders in the community, a decline in the commitment to the school system has resulted. This research study assessed the extent a school leader had a different ethical leadership approach with and without considering the impact of federal mandates. High school principals completed a quantitative survey based on three ethical scenarios which were illustrated through the multi-ethical paradigm. Only statistical significance was found in two of the fifteen independent tests. Principals had a different ethical leadership approach with and without considering the impact of federal mandates when questions were asked through the lens of the ethic of care and the ethic of profession relative to the first ethical scenario only. State officials are encouraged to support school administrators with additional educational programming and training on applying ethical frameworks to their practice. Researchers should continue assessing if the difference exists in a principal's leadership approach through the lens of the multi-ethical paradigm but consider a more focused quantitative study on strictly one paradigm or a qualitative analysis that focuses on a free-flowing exchange of thoughts and ideas.
Subjects and keywords:
ethical leadership
ethics
high school
multi-ethical paradigm
principal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17760/D20241630
Permanent Link:
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20241630
Use and reproduction:
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