Effective leadership is driven by clear ethical thinking. This paper presents the results of a study which compares and assesses the ethical orientation of three groups vested with the responsibility of leadership and/or leadership development: undergraduate education majors, undergraduate business majors and practicing educators. The study addresses a number of ethical positions, all defined in the paper. The well regarded Forsyth Ethical Position Questionnaire (1980) was employed to develop the data. The paper closes with conclusions and suggestions for further research based on the findings described.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aristotle, (1984). Nicomachean Ethics, Trans. W.D. Ross. V. II in The Complete Works ofAristotle. Ed. J. Barns, Princeton N.J.: Princeton University Press.
2.
Beach, W. (1991). "Ethical Education In Our Public Schools: Crisis And Opportunity," The Clearing House. May/June, pp. 313-315.
3.
Bentham, J. (1948). Fragments on Government and Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Ed. W. Harrison, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4.
Court, D. (1991). "Studying Teacher's Values," The Clearing House. July/August, pp. 389-392.
5.
Curley, E. (1988). Behind The Geometric Method. Princeton N.J.: Princeton University Press.
6.
Donaldson, T. (1982). "Constructing a Social Contract for Business," Corruptions and Morality. Ed. T. Donaldson, Englewood-Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, pp. 18-35.
7.
Forsyth, D.R. (1980). "A Taxonomy of Ethical Ideologies," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. July, pp. 175-184.
8.
Forsyth, D.R. (1981). "Moral Judgment: The Influence of Ethical Ideology ," Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. June, pp. 218-223.
9.
Forsyth, D.R. & Nye, J.L. (1990). "Personal Moral Philosophies and Moral Choice ," Journal of Research in Personality. Dec., pp. 398-414.
10.
Forsyth, D.R., Nye, J.L., & Kelley, K.N. (1988). "Idealism, Relativism, and the Ethic of Caring ," Journal of Psychology. May, pp. 243-248.
11.
Friedman, M. (1970). "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits," New York Times Magazine. September 13, pp. 32-33, 122-126.
12.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a Different Voice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
13.
Gorwin, R.C. (1965). Society of Education. New York : Appleton-Century Crofts.
14.
Grant, G. (1989). "Bringing The 'Moral' Back In," NEA Today. January, pp. 54-59.
15.
Hogan, R.A. (1970). "A Dimension of Moral Judgment," Journal of Clinical and CounselingPsychology. June, pp. 205-212.
16.
Howard, J.A. (1984). "Reopening the Books on Ethics: The Role of Education in a Free Society," American Education. October, pp. 6-11.
17.
Howsam, R.B. et al. (1976). Educating a Profession. Washington D.C.: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
18.
Hume, D. (1958). A Treatise ofHuman Nature, Ed. L.A. Selby-Bigge, London: Oxford University Press.
19.
Jackson, P.W. (1988). "The School as Moral Instructor: Deliberate Efforts and Unintentional Consequences," The World And I. March, pp. 593-606.
20.
Kierkegaard, S. (1971). Either/Or. Trans. by Walter Lowrie, V. II, Princeton University Press.
21.
Kolhberg, L. (1976). "Moralization: The Cognitive-Developmental Approach ," In T. Likona (Ed.), Morality: Theory, Research, and Social Issues. New York : Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
22.
Kohlberg, L. (1981). The Philosophy of Moral Development: Moral Stages and the Idea of Justice. New York: Harper and Row, 1981. And The Psychology of Moral Development: The Nature and Validity of Moral Stages. New York: Harper and Row, 1984.
23.
Kohn, A. (1991). "Caring Kids: The Role of the Schools," Phi Delta Kappan. March, pp. 496-506.
24.
Miller, F.D., Jr. and Ahrens, T. (1988). "The Social Responsibility of Corporations," Commerce and Morality. Ed. T. R. Machan, Totowa, N.J.: Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 140-160.
25.
Nyberg, D. (1990). "Teaching Values in School: The Mirror and the Lamp," Teachers College Record. Summer, pp. 595-611.
26.
Plato, (1965). The Republic of Plato. Trans. by F.M. Cornford. New York : Oxford.
27.
Rath, L., Harmin, M. and Simon, S. (1966). Values and Teaching. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill. And Values and Teaching: Working With Values in the Classroom . Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill , 1978.
28.
Schneewind, J. B., Ed. (1970). Mill: A Collection of Critical Essays. New York: University of Notre Dame Press.
29.
Sharp, F.C. (1988). "An Objective Study of Some Moral Judgments," American Journal of Psychology. Oct., pp. 198-234.
30.
Socrates, (1988). "Euthyphro," Trans. by L. Cooper, in Plato The Collected Dialogues. Eds. E. Hamilton, H. Cairns.Princeton N.J.: Princeton University Press.
