Diversity, Power and Influence: Multiple Perspectives on the Ethics of School Leadership

Abstract

The intersection and clash between prevailing norms of schooling and increasing sensitivity to diversity raises a host of previously ignored ethical considerations for school administrators. These ethical issues remain largely invisible to many school leaders and thus are addressed only minimally or inadequately. This paper explores ethical issues of diversity, power and influence that are embedded in leadership and school practices. Ethical criteria suggested by various perspectives are examined and an argument is presented that ethical issues can be more thoroughly addressed by using criteria from multiple perspectives. It is only when ethical issues of diversity are explicitly addressed that leadership and schools can become moral and empowering.