The Ethical Decision Making Practices of k-12 Administrators in an Urban Setting

Abstract

The decisions that administrators make can ultimately enhance or impede theculture of a school setting. When faced with situations, whether simple or arduous, the decision-making should be done in an ethical manner that brings about productive results. On a day-to-day basis, there may be situations that arise that require administrators to problem solve quickly or on the other hand requiring time to include reflective practice. How an administrator responds is the central focus of this project. This phenomenological study explored how administrators in a large city problem solve when faced with difficult decisions. According to Mertens (2015), phenomenological research seeks the individual’s perceptions and meaning of a phenomenon or experience. I learned a great deal from the participants’ decision-making practices. In particular, there were various parts of the multiple ethical paradigms aligned to the decision-making practices of the ten principals interviewed in this study. In particular, the ethics of care and profession were evident in each of the difficult decisions that all ten principals shared. Out of the twenty difficult decisions shared, the ethic of critique was evident in seventeen scenarios and the ethic of community was evident in fourteen out of the scenarios shared. Although the ethics of care, critique, profession, and community were prevalent in this study, the ethic of justice was not. This was an unexpected outcome of this study that will be discussed further.