ETHICAL DECISION MAKING in SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION 2 To My wife, Kerry, and my daughters, Emily and Nicole, and my sons, Eric and Jason and Judy and our daughters, Melanie and Letitia 3 ETHICAL DECISION MAKING in SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION Leadership as Moral Architecture Paul A. Wagner University of Houston-Clear Lake Douglas J. Simpson Texas Tech University 4 Copyright © 2009 by SAGE Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information: SAGE Publications, Inc. SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd. 2455 Teller Road B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Thousand Oaks, California 91320 Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044 E-mail: [email protected] India SAGE Publications Ltd. SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. 1 Oliver’s Yard 33 Pekin Street #02-01 55 City Road Far East Square London EC1Y 1SP Singapore 048763 United Kingdom Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wagner, Paul A. Ethical decision making in school administration: leadership as moral architecture / Paul A. Wagner, Douglas J. Simpson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4129-5214-9 (cloth) ISBN 978-1-4129-5215-6 (pbk.) 1. School management and organization—Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Decision making—Moral and ethical aspects. 3. Educational leadership—Moral and ethical aspects. I. Simpson, Douglas J. II. Title. LB2806.W24 2009 371.2—dc22 2008020273 This book is printed on acid-free paper. 08 09 10 11 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Acquisitions Editor: Diane McDaniel Editorial Assistant: Leah Mori Production Editor: Laureen A. Shea Copy Editor: Carol Anne Peschke Typesetter: C&M Digitals (P) Ltd. Proofreader: Victoria Reed-Castro Indexer: Jeanne Busemeyer Cover Designer: Candice Harman Marketing Manager: Christy Guilbault 5 Brief Contents Preface 1 Leaders, Ethics, and Schools: A Search for Clarity 2 Moral Theory 3 Leadership as Moral Architecture 4 Taking On the Big Challenge of School and District Administration 5 The Costs and Benefits of Inclusion 6 Factors to Consider When Making Judgments About Controversial Issues 7 The Pragmatic Value of Justice for All 8 The Role of Law in Moral Evaluation Appendix A Additional Case Studies in Educational Leadership Appendix B American Association of School Administrators Statement of Ethics for Educational Leaders Appendix C National Education Association Code of Ethics of the Education Profession Appendix D National School Boards Association Code of Ethics for School Board Members Glossary References Index About the Authors About the Case Study Authors 6 Detailed Contents Preface Features of the Text Acknowledgments Case Matrix 1 Leaders, Ethics, and Schools: A Search for Clarity The Inherently Moral Nature of Leadership Leader as Moral Architect Moral Architectures Stand Alone Distinguishing Between the Meta-Ethical and Prescriptive Morality It’s Not Just Talk: Pointing Out the Do’s and Don’ts of Communal Moral Life Taking Prescriptive Morality Seriously From the Great Conversation to Truth and Moral Commitment Leading the Great Conversation Professional Ethics Professional Ethics in Practice: An Example DISCUSSION QUESTIONS CASE STUDY ACTIVITY FURTHER READING 2 Moral Theory The Pragmatic Difference Between Scientific and Moral Theory A Spectrum of Moral Theory Virtue Theory Rationality and Moral Realists The Social Contract The Many Camps of Universalism Intuitionism and Social Sympathy Pragmatism DISCUSSION QUESTIONS CASE STUDY ACTIVITY FURTHER READING 7 3 Leadership as Moral Architecture Sustainable Leadership Morally Prescriptive Shared Vision in Education The Four Corners of Educational Purpose Learning Developing Attitudes Appropriate for Participation in the Great Conversation Acquiring Important and Reliable Information Dispositions The Challenge of Accommodating All Four Corners of Educational Purpose The Educational Leader: Leading the Way to Accommodation While Never Losing Sight of Principle Beyond the Four Corners of Educational Purpose: Schooling Dispositions and Attitudes Political and Economic Challenges to Doing Good Sustainable Leadership and Organizational Survival DISCUSSION QUESTIONS CASE STUDIES ACTIVITIES FURTHER READING 4 Taking On the Big Challenge of School and District Administration Leadership, Management, and Policy Managers Bosses Leadership: Moving Beyond Management Start With Policy Review, Not People Review Deming’s Social and Managerial Idealism and Scheffler’s Pragmatism Getting One’s Ducks in a Row The Point of Policy: Getting Better All the Time No Child Left Behind: A Source of Evaluation and Assessment Blunders Pragmatic Idealism Making Theory Responsive to Practice DISCUSSION QUESTIONS CASE STUDIES ACTIVITY FURTHER READING 5 The Costs and Benefits of Inclusion Accounting: The Meta-Language of Costs and Benefits Education for Inclusion Respect for Persons and the Assault on Inclusion: Bullying, Sexual Harassment, Sex Education, and 8 Religious and Ethnic Tolerance Conflicts of Duty Education, Evaluation, and Funding: Putting Money Where It Belongs What Does It Mean to Assess Education? Boards, Unions, Politicians, Parents, and Colleagues DISCUSSION QUESTIONS CASE STUDIES ACTIVITY FURTHER READING 6 Factors to Consider When Making Judgments About Controversial Issues Tolerance for Zero Tolerance Racism and Hate Speech: Fragments of School and District Culture Providing a Safe Environment: At What Cost? Participation in the Great Conversation of Humankind Summary Recommendations DISCUSSION QUESTIONS CASE STUDIES ACTIVITY FURTHER READING 7 The Pragmatic Value of Justice for All The Pragmatics of Justice Justice: A Linchpin Concept in Modern Theorizing Justice, Promise, and the Relevant Origins of Enduring Morality Bootstrapping Principles and Virtues and the Great Conversation Properly Working Moral Architectures Making Communities Better Through Better School and District Architectures Sustaining Moral Architecture in the Face of Challenge Elevating School and District Moral Architectures Social Engineering, Schooling, and the Focus of Education The Pragmatic Value of Justice DISCUSSION QUESTIONS CASE STUDIES ACTIVITY FURTHER READING 8 The Role of Law in Moral Evaluation Law as Public Morality and Surface to Moral Architecture Jurisprudence, Philosophy, and Practical Studies The Nature of Law 9 Moral Courage, Prudence, and the Law Law, Order, and the Feel of Justice The Wisdom of the Law: Order and Social Justice Summary DISCUSSION QUESTIONS CASE STUDIES ACTIVITY FURTHER READING Appendix A Additional Case Studies in Educational Leadership Case A.1. Agonizing Over Ecstasy at Cedar Hill School Daniel Vokey DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Case A.2. Justice and Zero Tolerance Paul F. Bitting DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Case A.3. A Matter of Integrity William Hare DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Case A.4. Possibilities at Lone Mountain Ernestine K. Enomoto and Bruce H. Kramer DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Case A.5. Principal as Buffer at Man Dorr Primary Kamla Mungal DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Case A.6. Professional Ethics and the Micropolitics of Decentralization: The Dilemma of District Office Middle Managers Lars G. Björk DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Case A.7. A Professional’s Personal Challenge JoAnn Franklin Klinker DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Case A.8. Rights of Students Versus Rights of Teachers John Keedy DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Case A.9. When a Picket Fence Becomes an Offense in Standardized Testing Elizabeth Campbell DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Case A.10. When the Saints Come Marching in 10