This collaborative research project began with two assumptions: (a) that the contradictions and differences within urban contexts create an environment in which moral practices are neither self-evident nor frequently actualized and (b) that leadership as primarily relational allows for the ongoing social construction of moral practices among urban educators. Thus, the study sought not only to understand constraints on moral practices within urban contexts, but also to identify real possibilities for moral practices to emerge within these contexts. Using both discourse analysis and Maxcy's theory of critical pragmatism, we sought to creatively unite critical methods of data analysis with participants' relationships, needs, and values to expand the moral center of urban school systems.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Anfara, V. , & Miron, L. (1996). Beyond caring: A look at practical intersubjectivity as a new paradigm to govern educational reform. Journal for a Just and Caring Education, 2, 304-330.
2.
Apple, M. (1993). Official knowledge. New York: Routledge.
3.
Apple, M. , & Beane, J. (Ed.). (1995). Democratic schools. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
4.
Beck, L. (1992). Meeting the challenge of the future: The place of a caring ethic in educational administration. American Journal of Education, 100, 454-496.
5.
Beck, L. (1994). Reclaiming educational administration as a caring profession. New York: Teacher's College Press.
6.
Beck, L. , & Foster, W. (in press). What's missing from the discourse on community? In J. Murphy and K. S. Louis (Eds.), Handbook of research on educational administration.
7.
Begley, P. (1988). The special role of values in school leadership. In K. Leithwood, P. Begley, & J. Bradley (Eds.), Developing expert leadership for future schools. London: Falmer.
8.
Bogotch, I. , & Brooks, C. (1994). Linking school level innovation with an urban school district's central office. Journal of School Leadership, 4, 12-27.
9.
Bogotch, I. , Brooks, C., McPhee, B., & Riedlinger, B. (1995). An urban district's knowledge of and attitudes toward school-based innovation. Urban Education, 30, 5-26.
10.
Bogotch, I. , Keaster, R., Baldwin, B., & Wonycott, A. (1995). Exploring the influences of contextual variables in beginning principals. Journal of School Leadership, 5(3), 23 1-247.
11.
Bogotch, I. , & Roy, C. (1994). Communicative interaction: A discourse analysis of school leadership in practice. Journal of Management Systems, 6(4), 45-60.
12.
Bogotch, I. , & Roy, C. (1997). The contexts of partial truths: An analysis of principal's discourse. Journal of Educational Administration, 35(4), 234-252.
13.
Bourdieu, P. (1972). Outline of a theory of practice (R. Nice, Trans.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
14.
Bums, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.
15.
Crowson, R. (1989). Managerial ethics in educational administration: The rational choice approach. Urban Education, 23, 412-435.
16.
Cuban, L. (1992). Managing dilemmas while building professional communities. Educational Researcher, 21, 4-11.
17.
Dewey, J. (1958). Experience and nature. New York: G. P. Putnam. (Original work published 1929)
18.
Foster, W. (1986). Paradigms and promises: New approaches to educational administration. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus.
19.
Giroux, H. (1992). The hope of a radical education. In K. Weiler & C. Mitchell (Eds.), What schools can do: Critical pedagogy and practice. Albany, NY: SUNY
20.
Greenfield, T. (1986). The decline and fall of science in educational administration. Interchange, 17(2), 57-80.
21.
Gronn, P. , & Ribbons, P. (1996). Leaders in context: Postpositivist approaches to understanding educational leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 32, 452-473.
22.
Habermas, J. (1984). The theory of communicative action (T. McCarthy, Trans.). Boston: Beacon.
23.
Hodgkinson, C. (1991). Educational leadership: The moral art. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
24.
Kohlberg, L. (1976). Morai stages and moralization: The cognitive-developmental approach. In T. Lickona (Ed.), Moral development and behavior: Theory, research and social issues. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
25.
Lewin, K. , Lippitt, R., & White, R. (1939). Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created social climates. Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 271-299.
26.
Marshall, C. (1992-1993). The values evident in administrators' ethical dilemma decision-making. Journal of Research for School Executives, 2, 111-117.
27.
Maxcy, S. (1991). Educational leadership, a critical pragmatic perspective. New York: Bergin & Garvey.
28.
Maxcy, S. (1995). Democracy, chaos, and the new school order. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
29.
Merton, R. (1969). The social nature of leadership. American Journal of Nursing, 69, 2614-2618.
30.
Miron, L. (1991). The dialectics of school leadership: Poststuctural implications. Organizational theory dialogue. San Diego, CA: University of San Diego.
31.
Miron, L (1996). The social construction of urban schooling: Situating the crisis. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton.
32.
Miron, L. (1997). Resisting discrimination: Affirmative strategies for principals and teachers. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin.
33.
Miron, L. , & Brooks, C. (1993). Great expectations: A critical analysis of the lessons of a grassroots movement to reform an urban school board. The International Journal of School Reform, 2, 242-248.
34.
Miron, L. , & Elliot, R. (1994). Moral leadership in a poststructural era. In S. Maxcy (Ed.). Postmodern school leadership: Meeting the crisis in educational administration (pp. 133-140). Westport, CT: Praeger.
35.
Miron, L. , & Lauria, M. (1995). Identity politics and student resistance to inner-city public schooling. Youth and Society, 27, 29-54.
36.
Murry, J., Jr. (1994). Ethical dilemmas and principals: An investigation into the moral reasoning of school leaders. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Educational Leadership, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA.
37.
Noddings, N. (1992). The challenge to care in schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
38.
Rost, J. (1993). Leadership in the future. In W. Rosenbach & R. Taylor (Eds.), Contemporary issues in leadership (pp. 220-228). San Francisco, CA: Westview.
39.
Sergiovanni, T. (1992). Frames of leadership. International Journal of Educational Reform, 2, 19-22.
40.
Starratt, R. (1991). Building an ethical school: A theory for practice in educational leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 27, 185-202.
41.
Starratt, R. (1994). Building an ethical school: A practical response to the moral crisis in schools. Washington, DC: Falmer.
42.
Stogdill, R. (1948). Personal factors associated with leadership: A survey of literature. Journal of Psychology, 25, 35-71.
43.
Tiemey, W. (1989). Advancing democracy: A critical interpretation of leadership. Peabody Journal of Education, 171(3), 72-88.
