Kāore te kūmara e kōrero mō tōna reka
The kūmara does not speak of its sweetness
Module Objectives:
- Understand ethical frameworks: Explore and understand various ethical frameworks and their application in educational leadership.
- Develop an ethical decision-making process: Develop and apply a structured process for making ethical decisions, considering diverse perspectives and potential consequences.
- Reflect on personal values and beliefs: Examine personal values and beliefs and how they influence ethical decision-making.
- Analyse ethical dilemmas in education: Analyse real-world ethical dilemmas commonly faced by school leaders.
- Apply ethical principles to school policies and practices: Evaluate and revise school policies and practices to ensure alignment with ethical principles and the school’s mission.
Section 1: Exploring Ethical Frameworks
Reading 1: “Tu Rangatera”
Now is a great time to dive into this resource, if you haven’t already, or refresh yourself if you have – https://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Key-leadership-documents/Tu-rangatira-English
Reading 2: “What is Ethical Leadership and Why is it Important?”
https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-ethical-leadership-and-why-is-it-important/
Section 2: Developing an Ethical Decision-Making Process
Reading 3: “A Framework for Ethical Decision-Making in Schools”
This reading will provide a step-by-step process for making ethical decisions – https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/principals/spag/governance/ethicaldecisionsmodel.pdf
Section 3: Personal Values and Ethical Leadership
Reading 4: “The Golden Circles”
Leading with the ‘why’ – https://simonsinek.com/golden-circle/
Resource 5: “Creating organizational cultures based on values and performance”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlhM7vALtUM
Task:
“Ethical Dilemma Analysis”
Step 1: Identify an ethical dilemma relevant to your role as an Associate/Deputy Principal at your kura.
Step 2: Apply what you have learned from the resources in this module, considering different perspectives, potential consequences, and relevant ethical principles.
Step 3: Discuss with your learning partner or a colleague at school how you would approach this dilemma, including how you might consult with others, what information you would need, and how you would ensure transparency and fairness in your decision-making.
Step 4: Document your analysis and proposed approach in the online forum for peer feedback and discussion.
Assessment:
- Completion of all readings.
- Participation in the online forum discussion.
- Analysis of an ethical dilemma and reflection on the application of ethical principles.
- Discussion with colleague or learning partner and documentation of the approach to resolving the dilemma.
9 Responses
The ethical dilemma that I was faced with recently was that a teacher had requested a day off for their birthday! It’s wasn’t for medical or urgent personal reasons and the timing impacted our data sharing evening for parents. Whilst some I know, arent so transparent in their requests and just take the day sick, this teacher has come requested the day. For me, its a conflict of values: Personal well-being and autonomy versus professional responsibility and students impact. By taking this day, on our afternoon/evening data sharing evening, means that this class will need to have parent discussion sessions on an other day, no longer creating autonomy for bookings, communications and expectations.
In considering this leave I have considered the following points. Does our school allow for discretionary leave, and have we communicated clear expectations around acceptable leave requests? Have similar requests been sumitted before and have they been granted or denied before either by this teacher or others? I was worried that my decision might create ‘tallk’ amongst staff, ie impacting morale and a presidence. Whilst I am all about well-being in an incredibly challenging job, there was also the impact on students and their parents who would be affected by their teacher not attending the scheduled evening event to share learning.
So going forward, I had a conversation with the teacher and found out that as well as her birthday, there was more going on with her at home than we knew so due to the background context of this staff member, she was was given approved upaid discretionary leave with the condition that she would need to host her data sharing conversations with parents at an alternative time and widely communicate this with parents and whanau.
My conversation with her outlined that there’s a concern about coverage or timing (the data sharing school event) and also that Leadership values staff wellbeing but also wants to manage fairness and impact. Such a scheduled evening will not work if several staff have a similar request. It was also important to notify the staff, sensitively to maintain transparency, that this was discretionary leave.
My reflections from reading are : While it’s not unethical to request leave for personal reasons, granting it depends on context and school values. The key is to ensure decisions are transparent, consistent, and respectful of both individual needs and collective responsibilities.
A situation arose in the last couple of weeks while I was learning more about ethical dilemmas, completing the readings, etc., which made me second-guess what I had done.
We were heading to camp, all the children who were going were excited and looking forward to the experience. They had had all the meetings and done all the preparation for it and were ready to go. The day before they were due to leave, a parent came to school to tell us he was withdrawing his child from camp. I spoke to him about this decision. We talked about the reason why he was withdrawing his child, and while he didn’t go into many details, it became clear it was a punishment for something that had happened at home.
While acknowledging his decision, I started to advocate for the child to be allowed to go, explaining what a valuable experience it would be and how I thought it would benefit the child in the long run. The conversation went backwards and forwards for a while and we left it without any firm decision being made, however, I did make sure the parent was aware that it was still his decision.
After the parent left, I thought about the situation I had been in with regards to advocating for a child vs respecting a parent’s wishes.
If the child was not allowed to go, the student’s behaviour at school could deteriorate as they feel left out of a major school event and have nothing to contribute after the experience. The relationships they build with their peers could alter as they do not have a shared experience and shared time away. That being said, the student could learn from their mistakes and realise there are consequences for their actions.
If they did go to camp, they would get all the benefits of being away from home on camp, but may not realise that there are consequences for their actions and continue to misbehave at home in the future.
I questioned whether I advocated too hard for the student when I may not have advocated for a different student in the same way – was I too invested in this particular student being able to go to camp?
On reflection, I had the best conversation with the parent that I could have had. I advocated for the child, putting forward the school’s perspective, while listening to the parent’s perspective and ultimately leaving the final decision in their hands. Going forward, I think the role (in this situation) is about fostering open communication with families and whanau, advocating for students while also respecting families/whanau individual standpoints and decisions.
In the space of a few weeks we had three parents come to us with concerns about a particular teacher. Stating the teacher had been shouting a lot at the students, made one child stand in a corner and a few parents felt like one child was unfairly targeted whilst on a school trip.
Firstly, I replied to the parents that passed on more formal concerns stating that I would be looking into this and we would follow up. I stated that if they felt the behaviour continued they could reach out to me again.
Secondly, I went to the teachers middle leader and asked about the teachers mindset in meetings and actions so far this year. It was shared that the teacher was dealing with some personal issues and had already been spoken to by the ML regarding their tone and manner with the students on a few occasions this year.
Thirdly, I went to my Principal and we had discussed how to address the concerns. None of the parents wanted to take it further but we discussed addressing it with the teacher involved and had a conversation on what might happen during this chat and how I could approach it.
I organised a time to chat with the teacher. We addressed the parents concerns and discussed why this might have been happening and why she had felt the need to raise her voice. We went further into the child standing in the corner and this had happened in quite a different way but we still discussed how this had made the child feel (being made to stand at the back of the mat). The discussion also moved into personal life and reminders around not “taking this out” on students in the classroom. The teacher agreed to work on this and I am going to check back in throughout the term.
I still struggle with these sorts of conversations as I don’t want people to ever feel attacked or that it is personal criticism. I tried my best to approach it based on the information and facts we had received. Going forward with conversations like this my aim is to try and stay in the conversation for the time I feel it needs. I can rush through to try and get out or avoid the situation and get it over and done with. I think everything needs to be said so both parties can move forward and not feel they weren’t heard or didn’t say what needed to be said.
I agree Jess, these conversations are not easy! I think it is important to try to remember that these are professional conversations that need to be addressed sometimes, and like you, I need to remember not to rush through to get it done!
Jess,
It sounds like you did really well in this situation. Never easy having an open to learning conversation. In the past I have also found it helpful, if I was feeling a little unsurehow my conversation would go, was to have a mock run through with someone else in the Senior Leadership team or even the Principal – run through the points I wanted to discuss. Also, having a few prompts on paper has also helped me prepare for such a conversation.
My Ethical Dilemma
Last year, in my role as the whole-school Sports Coordinator, I was responsible for overseeing Physical Education, school sports, and extracurricular sporting events. It was a significant year as we participated in several new sporting opportunities for the first time.
During this time, I had built a strong rapport with a particular parent who, while supportive, had a reputation for being bold, blunt, and at times, difficult to engage with. Prior to the main incident, several parents had raised concerns about the language she used around students and her generally rude demeanour. On each occasion, I addressed these concerns by speaking with her one-on-one and reminding her of the parent code of conduct.
In Term 4, I was mentoring a beginning teacher who was taking increasing responsibility for managing school sports. As part of this support, the teacher was given the lead on a large sporting event, which required multiple Learning Assistants (LAs) and parent volunteers to ensure adequate supervision and support for students. Unfortunately, the parent in question was not closely monitored during the event—something I later regretted.
Later that same day, both the principal and I received an email from the principal of the host school. She reported that our parent volunteer had allegedly threatened a teacher/coach from their school and used highly inappropriate language in front of students, both from our school and theirs.
This led to a series of difficult but necessary actions, including:
– Informing my principal and collaboratively developing an action plan
– Contacting the principal of the other school to gather all relevant information
– Reaching out to other parents who were present to collect witness accounts
– Contacting the parent involved to discuss the allegations and her behaviour
After collecting all the necessary information, including accounts from the other school’s principal, our parent helpers, and the accused parent herself, it became clear that her behaviour was inappropriate and had negatively impacted both students and staff. While the parent attempted to justify her actions, she did not deny the use of inappropriate language or the confrontation with the coach.
Together with my principal, we decided on the following steps:
– The parent was formally removed from any future volunteering roles within school sport or extracurricular events.
– A formal email was issued outlining the reasons for this decision and reinforcing the school’s expectations around adult conduct.
– The situation was documented and shared with relevant staff to ensure consistent boundaries moving forward.
– I debriefed with the beginning teacher to reassure him that the situation was not a reflection of her efforts and used the incident as a learning opportunity to discuss the importance of proactive supervision and assertive leadership during events.
Reflection
This experience challenged me to balance professional boundaries, community relationships, and student wellbeing. I had to navigate a situation that was emotionally charged and reputationally sensitive, all while supporting a staff member under my guidance. I reflected on the importance of:
– Clearly communicating expectations to all volunteers prior to events
– Having contingency plans in place when delegating responsibility
– Taking immediate, transparent, and principled action in response to ethical breaches
– Maintaining student safety and wellbeing as the foundation of all decisions
Although difficult, the situation ultimately reinforced my values as a leader: to act with integrity, protect students, and lead by example even when it’s uncomfortable.
I am currently navigating an ethical dilemma involving a beginning teacher at our kura. He joined our staff last year as a newly graduated teacher. His in-laws are both members of our staff, and while I was involved in the appointment process, I was outnumbered in the decision-making. From the outset, I had concerns about the perceived conflict of interest and its implications for fairness, staff culture, and accountability.
Since his appointment, a pattern of behaviour has emerged that raises professional concerns. While he follows basic expectations, he does not show initiative or contribute beyond minimum requirements. He has arrived late for duties and classes on multiple occasions and has delegated classes to others without informing the leadership team. His conduct has prompted ongoing complaints from other staff members, particularly around his lack of engagement during lessons from time to time and inconsistent punctuality. I have encouraged staff to address issues with him directly, but the concerns continue to surface.
This year, I have taken over as his mentor. Last year, his previous mentor found the role stressful due to ongoing concerns about his attitude and level of professional responsibility. Toward the end of the year, he expressed a desire to become the school’s physical education teacher- a role he describes as his “dream job”- despite having only three terms of classroom experience. Around the same time, he also began showing interest in postgraduate study in educational leadership, seemingly influenced by peers. While I support staff ambition and development, I have been clear with him that such aspirations need to be backed by consistent conduct, professional credibility, and a strong foundation of practice.
Drawing on the ethical decision-making model outlined in this module, this dilemma highlights the need to uphold integrity, fairness, and transparency. There is tension between supporting a teacher’s professional growth and ensuring they meet basic professional standards. Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle reminds me that ethical leadership begins with the “why”- our kura is committed to equity, trust, and high expectations for all. Harvard’s perspective reinforces that ethical leadership should align with our internal moral compass; the discomfort I feel is a reflection of that compass pointing to an imbalance.
In response, I have:
– Held a direct and honest conversation with the teacher, affirming my willingness to support him while also outlining concerns.
– Encouraged colleagues to provide feedback directly, rather than defaulting to leadership intervention.
– Sought input from SLT colleagues about how best to address recurring conduct issues in a way that is fair and professional.
– Continued to mentor him with a dual focus: supporting his aspirations while being clear about the expectations and responsibilities that must be met first.
I will continue to document incidents and follow through with support, feedback, and accountability. I am mindful of the need to maintain staff trust and fairness, especially in a situation where there may be perceptions of preferential treatment due to family ties. I welcome feedback from others on how to handle this situation in a way that is transparent, ethical, and in the best interests of both the individual and the wider team.
Stephanie,
Thanks for sharing, I know of another school who had a similar issue. Was the conflict of interest due to connections in SLT or Leadership – this can make it even harder. How is he tracking in his Professional Growth Cycle and Teachers Council Expectations? From my past learning, documentation is vital from all meetings and messages, phone calls etc, and make sure that your teacher sees notes from meetings and agrees that this disucssion took place by signing. I look forward to hearing how this dilemma plays out for you. Not easy, and extrememly time consuming at least.