This is a brief reflective essay on
two journal articles: “Taoist Leadership Ethics,” by Craig
Johnson and “The Practice Value of Philosophical Thought for the Ethical
Dimension of Education,” by Robert D. Helsep. These two articles focus on the role ethics,
morality, and philosophical beliefs play in the educational system today. I will attempt to share with the reader, my
own theoretical analysis of why these three components are serviceable in aiding
student and teacher success, as well as provide a brief video to add to the
subject matter that will be presented.
Ethics can be described as moral
choices. “Morality is viewed as the
system of rules that regulate the social interactions and social relationships
of individuals within societies and is based on concepts of welfare (harm),
trust, justice (comparative treatment and distribution) and rights.” (Oladipo,
2009, p. 149) Heslep (1997) noted that
philosophy provides theories of ethics, principles, and skills that help
educational leaders make judgments. It
is my estimation after reading these two selected articles, as well as
researching several other scholarly articles on this topic, that ethics,
morality, and a philosophical approach to education all serve a purpose and
play an essential role in the development and maintenance of academic success
among school age children and the teachers who serve them.
In reviewing the first article, Taoist Leadership Ethics, Johnson
describes Taoism as “an integrated philosophical system with its own set of
assumptions about the origins of the universe, human nature, ways of
understanding, and spirituality.” (Johnson, 2000, p. 82) In simpler terms, Taoism is a train of
thought, not a set of actions or processes.
It
places an emphasis on the leader-follower relationship and how to enhance it.
The two key components of Johnson’s
article concerning the role Taoist play in leadership ethics today are its
leadership principles and its ethical implications. Taoist leadership principles are simple. Less is more.
Taoist believes the less the government plays a role in setting and
governing educational policy, the better.
They feel government is distrustful in nature and creates a barrier
between leaders and their followers.
When subordinates are left alone to do the job they have been hired to
do, and are not micro managed, they feel empowered, valued, and trusted. Johnson argues that this sign of trust will
allow followers to freely obey natural laws, which in turn will have a positive
effect on society.
In giving teachers that kind of
autonomy, leaders are entrusting these individuals to make proper ethical
decisions. “Ethical decision making in
Taoism is based on conformity to principles manifested in the natural or
phenomenological world rather than on the consequences of choices (teleological
ethics) or on cultural standards or values (deontological ethics). Right actions are those that reflect the
workings of the physical world:
nonaction,
assisting but not controlling, softness, weakness, dwelling
below, genuineness (Ku-ying, 1977).
Being a leader who is soft or weak is
often frowned upon in any business or organization. Taoist argues that being soft or weak means
you are flexible, amenable, open to change.
In contrast, death is often associated with being rigid, stiff, and
immovable. Traits such as the latter, can
serve as a detriment to any company or leader.
As a leader, one must learn to adapt, grow, and embrace new ideas that encourage
or assist in helping push a school or company forward.
I found this to be an interesting analogy
while reading Johnson’s views on the leadership ethics Taoist aim to
exemplify. The ethics one displays in
essentially a mirror of the own moral compass.
An empirical study was conducted
among a group of teachers in Portugal.
When these teachers were asked to express their opinion on being a
teacher, they responded that is was “essentially an ethical activity: ethical since the teacher has to act
according to a set of moral principles and also due to the fact that the
teacher is expected to employ strategies which develop a method and use
resources to encourage the ethical education of pupils.” (Caetano & Silva, 2009, p. 46) These
findings lead me to discuss the role philosophy should or should not play in
making these crucial ethical decisions that affect so many.
Robert D. Heslep investigates this very
argument in his article. Heslep argues
in favor of utilizing philosophy in to help shape the ethical decisions
educators are forced to make when presented with dilemmas that require such a
decision to be made. “Not only does
philosophy, according to this position, provide theories of ethics, but it also
furnishes principles and includes skills that are relevant to making judgments
in educational leadership.” (Heslep, 1997, p. 68) Heslep also believes that superintendents,
administrators, and teachers often rely too much on their own experience,
common sense, staff development training, and not enough of well thought out
philosophical reflection.
Mr. Gary J. Conti supports Helsep’s
argument for the inclusion of philosophical thinking to be included in
educational ethical decision-making in a separate article. Conti believes the teacher-learner process
has to be better understood for true academic achievement and growth to occur. “For teachers, this involves better
understanding of what we do in the classroom and why we do it. One way to accomplish this is for teachers to
become aware of their educational philosophies because true professionals know
not only what they do, but also are aware of the principles and reasons for
acting.” (Conti, 2007, p. 19) As a
teacher for over 13 years, I have been forced to make several ethical decisions
concerning my students. When the time
came to make those crucial decisions, I relied on my own standards of ethics,
morals, and the philosophy that what ever decision is in the best interest of
the student, is the decision that needs to be made. When teaching and making ethical decisions, I
try to live by the five principles of ethics as they apply to teaching and
nurturing our nation’s youth. Ana
Weinstein list them as:
1. Do no harm
2. Make things better
3. Respect others
4. Be fair
5. Be loving
These
five principles are basically the ethical, moral and philosophical framework I
choose to teach and live by.
I believe that ethics, morality, and
philosophy should all play a vital role in any ethical decision that involves a
policy or procedure that will affect students and student learning. A leader who acts ethically and makes moral
choices is a non-negotiable in my estimation.
The idea of whether to incorporate philosophy into the decision making
process is still up for debate. However,
I see no harm in giving pause to create constructive philosophical discourse. In conclusion, I agree with the premise of
Heslep and Johnson’s articles that philosophy is an important cog in the
process of making sound, reasonable, and well thought out ethical decisions
when it comes to education.
In the space below, I have provided a
short video, which I think, will give any leader a guideline to making sound
decisions based in part on the information that was addressed in this essay.
References:
Caetano,
A. P., & Silva, M. D. (2009). Professional ethics and teacher
education. Sisifo
Conti,
G. J. (2007). Identifying your
educational philosophy: development of
the
philosophies held by instructors of
lifelong-learners (PHIL). MPAEA Journal of
Adult
Education, 36(1), 19-35.
Heslep,
R. D. (1997). The practical value of philosophical thought for the ethical
dimension of educational leadership. Educational
Administration Quarterly, 33, 67-85.
doi:10.1177/0013161X97033001004
Johnson,
C. (2000). Taoist leadership ethics. Journal of Leadership & Organizational
Studies, 7(1), 82-91.
doi:10.1177/10719190000700108
Ku-ying,
C. (1977). Lao tzu: Text, notes and
comments.
San Francisco, California: Chinese Materials Center
Weinstein,
A. (2009). Ethics is the classroom: what
you need to know. Retrieved from
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