Education Ethics, The Legal System, Leadership, Integrity

Educational Ethics and the Legal System
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Educational Ethics and the Legal System
Introduction
Ethics are standards that determine whether actions are right or wrong and revolve around values such as integrity and honesty among others and their application in daily lives. Ethics influence human behavior by allowing individuals to make the right choices and without them, it would be difficult to regulate human behavior. Ethics are essential in every aspect of life and particularly the education sector where educators must set an example to the students. This paper seeks to explore educational ethics and how the U.S. legal system affects education.
The Elements of Educational Ethics
Laws, professional codes of ethics, and personal values and beliefs are three main elements in education ethics. They help educators choose between right and wrong when faced with ethical dilemmas (Darden, 2014). The three elements interact, or conflict as educators carry their day-to-day roles and responsibilities in the school setting. A person’s values and beliefs influence their ethical codes which vary from person to person. Laws and professional ethical codes aim to set the standards for best practice, promote honesty, and promote abuses. However, temptations such as money insecurity, prestige, fear, power, and self-preservation among others make educators stray into unethical conduct. Although all the three elements are usually in sync, one can violate ethical code without necessarily breaking the law. “Ethics start where the law ends” (Darden, 2014, p70). The combination of personal values, professional ethical codes and law aim at guiding educators make the right choice. Since no law forbids any actions, to promote moral code educators should understand that “just because you can doesn’t mean you should” (Darden, 2014, p71).
Leadership, Ethics, and Integrity
Educational leaders should execute their duties with integrity and in an ethical manner. There are articles in the news about rampant ethical lapses by educators now and then. One common thing about all these incidences is that they involve a lack of integrity and ethical behavior from persons in leadership (Cook, 2012, 161). It is the responsibility of educational leaders to teach faculty and students to embrace integrity and make ethical decisions. “Wisdom is knowing the right path to take; integrity is taking it” (Cook, 2012, 162). Professional codes of ethics outline the ideas that educators should aspire and are usually job title specific. For example the Interstate School Leaders Consortium (ISLLC) six standards provide a framework for effective behavior leadership. Standard 5 is on ethical behavior “An education leader promotes the success of every student by acting with integrity, fairness and in an ethical manner” (Cook, 2012, 162). Other organizations such as the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) and National Association for Elementary Schools Principals (NAESP) also have statements of ethics that dwell on fulfilling of professional responsibilities with honesty and integrity.
The Legal Context of Education
It is essential for all educators to hav...