The Ethical Line

10 Leadership Strategies for Effective Decision Making

Three professional frameworks of educational standards are referenced in Chapter 1 and are included in the appendices:

Appendix A:  Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSELs):  United States
Appendix B:  Australian Professional Standard for Principals and the Leadership Profiles

Appendix C:  National Professional Qualification for Headship:  United Kingdom

All schools exist within their own distinct community. Their local beliefs, culture, history, values, and vision influence the ways access and opportunities are provided to all students.  The role of the school principal has evolved into an instructional leader who both manages the daily operations of a school as well as leads the community towards academic excellence.  The congruence of professional standards from 3 different continents demonstrates the recognition of shifting school communities at local and international levels. 

The challenges faced by school leaders may differ from site to site, but the specific, ethical, and mindful ways problems are approached and effectively solved are universal.  Understanding and utilizing standards enable any leader to consider and contribute to a 21^st Century, multicultural global society.  Utilizing a problem-solving model that outlines the steps of thinking through uncertain situations will enable leaders to arrive at innovative solutions that are ethical, logical, culturally sensitive, and in the best interests of the students they are charged to serve. 

 
San Diego State ‘Roadshows: With support of the Wallace Foundation, the Educational Leadership Department at San Diego State is currently engaging in a redesign of the Administrative Services Credential program.  One of the core courses of the program is EDL 655, which was redesigned from a focus on teamwork to ethical preparation.  The tenets of ethical leadership are no longer isolated and are now woven throughout the other six core courses of our program.  SDSU’s program redesign includes instruction related to the new California Administrator Performance Assessments (CalAPA’s) that are required before licensure.  Our program redesign has been recognized by California’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the state-wide licensing body, as a model for other credentialing institutions in California.  We are currently presenting and sharing our course sequence, syllabi, and all materials to the other universities in California.  These ‘roadshows’ occur three times per year; higher education faculty from each university attends, hears our presentation, and is given access to all materials in our program.

Further, the Stuart Foundation is supporting this statewide educational leadership program redesign by selecting 3 to 5 universities in California for SDSU faculty to partner with and lead their redesign efforts.  I am a part of these processes and envision sharing my EDL 655 syllabus and required reading with higher ed faculties.  If I were to publish with Corwin, I would have numerous, excellent opportunities to personally share the book with the higher education faculty who teach courses on ethical and equity-driven leadership as well as the other core courses that are necessary for aspiring principals to fulfill the requirements for an Administrative Credential in California.