The origins of the Ethical Decision Making Course and the earlier development of the Ethical Decision Making Toolkit can be located in the professional learning initiatives I provided for school leaders and aspiring leaders as a School Education Director in the Macquarie Region from 2010 until the region’s demise in June 2013 following a major statewide education restructure. During this time, I developed and refined through workshop presentations a range of ethical decision-making scenarios that became the foundation of the Ethical Decision Making Toolkit. The events at Magpie Park Public School44 which I described in the Overarching Narrative provided me with an opportunity for significant personal reflection. This reflection encompassed the key accountabilities of a principal, the nature of a principal’s working relationship with the school leadership team, and the nature of the authentic professional learning needed to support school leadership teams in building quality organisational environments for their school communities.
As a consequence of my own reflective experiences and positive feedback from school leaders, I created and developed the Ethical Decision Making Toolkit and then the Ethical Decision Making Course for School Leaders. Some of the professional learning scenarios and dilemmas in the toolkit draw on earlier professional learning workshops I developed and facilitated as a senior departmental officer. Some of the new scenarios that were specifically crafted for The Ethical Decision Making Course reflect on complex ethical issues intersecting with mandatory policy guidelines for schools. Examples of these issues
include the enrolment of non-local students in government schools in New South Wales, the suspension of students and the potential conflicts of interest experienced by teaching staff. All the scenarios reflect difficult and complex situations which I have encountered working with school leaders while fulfilling my professional duties and responsibilities as an Education Director in line managing networks of schools.
In the creation, design and development of the Ethical Decision Making Course, I drew extensively on Australian educational research by, primarily but not limited to, Dempster et al. (2002, 2004a, 2004b), Dempster and Berry (2003), Cranston et al. (2006) and
Cranston (2008) who identify the benefits of case-based learning as an appropriate form of professional learning for school leaders. While declaring that cases are not the ‘panacea for leadership development of principals’, Cranston depicts three key tangible benefits of cases – authenticity, theory-practice linkage, and as stimulus for ‘real life collegiate
discussions with colleagues’ (2008, p. 593). For Begley and Stefkovich, ‘values, ethics and valuation processes’ have a central role to play in the preparation of leaders and their leadership development (2007, p. 408).
All of this research has been invaluable for the insights it has provided into the role of school leaders, the challenges that leaders face and the critical importance of supporting and sustaining quality leadership practices in schools. School leaders are now more ‘directly affected by system policies, having to bear the brunt of local decisions driven by them’ (Dempster et al., 2004b, p. 173). The Ethical Decision Making Toolkit and the Ethical Decision Making Course were created against this backdrop to support, enhance and sustain educational leaders in their highly complex work environments.
Course registration
The Ethical Decision Making Course for School Leaders was written, approved and subsequently registered on the electronic database of the Department of Education’s
intranet in New South Wales in 2012 as a regionally-based professional learning course for school leaders and aspiring leaders. An introductory module of two hours was provided for interested participants in May 2012. Included in the introductory module was awareness raising of the departmental guidelines, Pathways to Ethical Decision Making, an overview of resources from the Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) and an
exploration of the opening part of a scenario entitled, ‘Lateness to School’.45 The course was given a registered course code NRO3379 and was able to be accessed through the professional learning portal for public education teachers in New South Wales called, MyPL@Edu. Twenty-four participants signed up for the course, which was delivered face to face, after the preliminary introductory module. This was then delivered through the remaining five modules in two-hourly professional learning sessions during 2012 and 2013 to allow the participants to use learning from the course in their home schools. It was the first time that a course of this nature in six parts with professional learning activities, readings and scenarios had been created and delivered for school principals and aspiring leaders in New South Wales.46
Readings and follow-up activities from the discussions held during the professional learning sessions were provided to the course participants between the sessions. The readings were diverse and research based. A regular email distribution list was provided to all course participants and included readings I had used in my doctoral study that
encompassed ethics, ethical decision making, case-based learning, succession planning and
45The part scenario ‘Lateness to school’ and workshop questions can be found in Appendix 9. 46 This information is based on courses listed in the departmental database: MyPL@Edu
management, group think, workplace cultures and leadership. The research of Neck and Moorehead (1995) on groupthink is especially valuable for the rich dialogue it generates on workplace culture. Email exchanges also provide the benefit of being enriched by schools sharing policies and site-based documentation in response to dilemmas and scenarios that are being explored by the group. Two examples of exchanged site-based documentation include policies relating to the ‘Enrolment of Non-Local Students’ and ‘Expressions of Interest for Vacant Executive Positions’.
As indicated previously in my Overarching Narrative, ethics approval through Western Sydney University was sought and given. I also sought and obtained approval through the State Education Research Application Process (SERAP) from the Department of
Education in New South Wales before I started facilitating the course. As a result,
participants in the course were all informed that I would be using the course as a means of collecting data for research being undertaken as part of my doctorate in the professional practice of school leaders. All course participants were given the option of being part of individual and focus group interviews or opting out if they wished, as well as contributing to pre- and post-questionnaires relating to the course content.
Course outline
The course was developed as an introductory course for school leaders and aspiring leaders. The modules were designed to be interactive and to facilitate shared dialogue among all course participants who were engaged in practical problem-solving activities that utilise their critical thinking and reflection. The intention was to have all participants sharing professional conversations about their school-based practices, exploring strategic options for solving dilemmas through scenario-based learning and using departmental
policies for guidance in areas with mandated procedures. Mandated procedures were inclusive of policies relating to enrolment, suspension and the wellbeing of students.47
Course enrolment
Originally I believed that the Ethical Decision Making Course for School Leaders would appeal primarily to school principals. They were the target group in two-hour professional learning workshops I had provided from 2010 onwards in the Macquarie region for the Department of Education. Following requests, I also included other school executive team members and aspiring executives who had expressed interest in enrolling in the course. The most surprising request, which I had not envisaged, came from three schools who wished to enrol their entire school leadership teams, including current executive staff and aspiring leaders. The three requests were all accommodated and I was pleased to provide a professional learning experience that catered for an entire leadership group. Aida, the principal of one of these three schools, was very open in her declaration that she viewed the course as an opportunity for team building in her leadership team (Transcript, 750066, p. 33).At a time of major educational reform and generational change team building within a school leadership group was a key priority.