Ethical Relationship between Principal and Teacher in School Setting - Essay Example

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ETHICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRINCIPAL AND TEACHER IN A SCHOOL Affiliation THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ETHICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRINCIPAL AND TEACHER IN A SCHOOL This paper is going to talk about the ethical relationship between principal and teacher in school setting. The concept of ethics discusses the moral values and rules effective in determining right and wrong behaviors and attitudes. It enables an individual to make appropriate decisions of what is right or wrong. An individual is equally able to discern the just from the unjust and the good from the bad. A principal is the leader of a school. He or she exerts a power of impact over the teacher that he is heading/leading in the school. He or she affects and guides both the school and the teachers to their goals (Weaver, 2001). The ethical relationship between principal and teacher in a school is to be demonstrated by values such as loyalty, honesty, courage, responsibility, tolerance, respect, accuracy and justice (Chambers, 2011). The ethical relationship enables both the principals and the teachers to be loyal to a school. Once loyalty is demonstrated, both the principal and teacher will work towards improving the performance of the school. This will enable them to achieve various levels of success, both in the academic and non-academic activities. It will also enable them to keep up with competition that would be coming from other schools. Honesty enables both the teachers and the principal to carry out their duties appropriately and as expected of them. This kind of value will enable them not to decline their duties in the school. Courage will give the teachers and the principal the comfort of effectively performing their duties without fear or favor. Responsibility makes both the principal and the teachers to realize that they are accountable for their actions and hence dutifully and obediently perform them for purposes of accountability. Tolerance and respect makes both the principal and the teachers to have a good working relationship that will enhance the performance of a school. The principal and teachers would be coming from diverse backgrounds and would be ascribing to different values. It is only the presence of respect and tolerance that will make them to work together in harmony and to avoid the occurrence of conflicts. A school in which the principal respect his teachers and the teachers in return respect the principal is has a high chance of recording excellent results. This will equally promote the kind of relationships that they will be having with their students in the school. Justice makes the principal to give the teachers a fair hearing in case of a conflict. He or she will afford the teachers with an opportunity to express their views and opinions concerning the subject matter of a conflict. This will help in the amicable resolution of a conflict. Lastly, accuracy will ensure that the teachers and the principals perform their roles in an accurate manner. The ethical relationship between principal and teacher in a school enables the principal to satisfactorily accomplish their ethical duties like treating their teachers impartially and appreciating the highest standards of justice expected of a principal (Sharp, 2009). It also makes the principal to encourage the teachers in the performance of their duties. Giving of encouragement to the teachers raises their morale and makes them to perform their responsibilities in a more improved manner. It is therefore important for the principal to give moral support to the teachers that is advanced towards encouraging them. This moral support would be in the form of rewards for the best performing teachers, seminars and training advanced towards the training of these teachers or even the organizational f trips in which both the principal and the teacher will be afford an opportunity to discuss the various issues affecting the school and to come up with a proper solution to the discussed issues. This will make the teachers to have a sense of belonging and to feel that they are being involved in the issues affecting the school. This will equally make them to increase their performance levels as they will realize that they have a duty in the school to produce good results. The ethical relationship will also make the principal to be humble (Karakose, 2007). Humility is a virtue that will equally make the teachers to be humble and to follow the instructions presented to them for the benefit of the school as well as for their benefit. It will also make the principal to be understanding and patient towards the teachers. This will make it possible for him or her not to be aggressive and to strive to reason properly with the teachers in the various matters that would be affecting either their relationship or the school at large. The principal is also likely to demonstrate fairness. This will make him or her not to show any form of discrimination towards of his staff teachers. He or she will endeavor to treat the teachers in an equal manner free of discrimination either based on gender, race or any other form of discrimination that would possibly present itself. These are the kind of skills that exist in ethics of communication, ethics, ethics in climate and decision-making ethics levels of high schools of the state in the city of Kutahya in Turkey ( Karakose, 2007). These kinds of principals who have these ethical values do effective self-evaluation of their teachers and they are honest. They are equally quick in protecting the individual rights of their teachers, for example the right to the freedom of expression. It is very important for a principal to have an ethical perception. A principal cannot afford not to demonstrate ethical values in his or her leadership as this will either give him positive or negative reactions from his staff (Ahmadi & Ebrahim, 2014). It is equally of great significance for principals to have ethical principles and apply them effectively and precisely so as to enhance the quality of the interactions in his school. It will also make it possible for him to guide his teachers towards the mutual objectives for the school that he is heading. Demonstration of ethical values increases comfort in schools. The teachers will feel more comfortable to perform their duties efficiently. A principal ought to be a role model and effectively demonstrate the relevant ethical values required of him. This will enable the teachers to adopt the same ethical values as those that the principal is demonstrating. Ethical values enable principals to unite their teachers in the achieving of the objectives of a school. It also enables the principals to provide a proper working environment and opportunities for both the principal and the teachers to learn from one another (Weaver, 2001). The skilled teachers in a school will also be presented with an opportunity to impact the desired success upon the success of students. Satisfaction and efficiency among the teachers is also enhanced with the demonstration of the ethical values. This improves the working relationship that is apparent between the teachers and the principal. Ethical values cement the cooperation and trust among teachers as well as enhancing respect among them. Teachers in a school are likely to cooperate in a school setting that has ethical values. They are also likely to trust the principal more and adhere to his orders and instructions. A school’s reputation is equally enhanced by the presence of an ethical culture ( Sergiovanni, 1992). This would be the reputation that the school is getting from the community, the parents and even the nation at large. A good reputation for a school is very paramount to the success of that school. A school that has a negative reputation from people is unlikely to attract students and it stands a high chance of recording a very poor academic track record. Its teachers will also not have the morale to efficiently and effectively perform their duties as they will not feel accountable and responsible to do the same. It is the work of the principals to establish an ethical culture at schools. The quality and perceptions of justice of a principal will affect the how the teachers in a school uphold ethical behaviors (Mitchell, 1995). If the principal has high quality levels of justice and a proper perception of justice, the teachers will endeavor to uphold those ethical values. This is because the principal is considered to be the role model of the school. However, on the other hand if the principal has low qualities of justice and poor perceptions of justice, the teacher will not uphold the ethical values. They are likely to behave in more or less the same manner that the principal presents himself or herself. This will definitely be to the detriment of the school’s performance as well as reputation. There is an increase in the positive relationship between a leader who demonstrates ethical values and the health of its staff (Chambers, 2011). A good demonstration of ethical values increases the health of a staff. Teachers who are in a good health will perform their duties appropriately. This will reflect in an increased efficiency and output among the teachers. On the contrary, a principal that does not uphold ethical values will cause his or her teachers to have a poor health. A poor health is the most researched and documented cause of inefficiency in institutions. A poor health among the staff leads to low output of the performance of an institution. A school is not likely to achieve its objectives of its teachers are not in a good health and are not in a position to work efficiently and properly (Chambers, 2011). The ethical relationship of the principal and teacher affects the achievement of students in a school. Principals must be good instructional leaders of their schools. This will promote trust and build relationships and hence improve the success of students in a school. It is the ethical values that make a principal to be a good instructional leader. Giving of good and proper instructions by the principal to the teachers will make the teachers to equally adhere to these instructions and follow them to the letter. This is only possible in a school setting that has set down ethical values as well as in a school in which there is a proper working environment between the teachers and the principal. This will be reflected in the success of the students as the teachers will work hard to teach the students and the students will thereafter register good grades. The principal can make all this possible if he or she ensures that the school adhered to ethical values. Ethical values will also determine how principals resolve a conflict in a school. The adherence to ethical principles in the management of conflicts is an extremely effective way to enhance the success of a school. When the principals of schools make decisions that are geared towards the common good of the school, then success will be enhanced. Principals are likely to resolve conflicts amicably if they are guided by the proper ethical values. Amicable resolution of conflicts will however not be possible if the principal is not guided by ethical values. The relationship between the principal and the teachers is also enhanced if the principals solve disputes amicably while being guided by ethical values. This will ensure that no injustices are occasioned and that all the parties to the conflict are happy by the end of the day. It will also ensure that there are no favors done to a certain teacher over another during the resolution of conflicts. This will equally be reflected in the manner in which the teachers or even the principal handles conflicts that arise between the students. It can also aid in the amicable solution of conflicts between the school and the parents or between the school and any interested party to a conflict. Ethical values enhance the relationship between principals and teachers as the principal is likely to advance certain rights to the teachers. Some of these rights are, for example, freedom of the teachers to express themselves, the individual freedom of the teachers, the teachers’ right to counsel as well as the right of the teachers to be independent in the performance of their tasks. These rights are likely to be taken into consideration by principals during the management of conflicts that arise in a school. The teachers are also given an opportunity to express and defend themselves in case of a conflict between them and the school or in any conflict that they would be involved in and in which the school is affected. The ethical relationship between principal and teacher in a school will enable the principal to make sure that the teachers of his school avoid being alone with students. This will help to reduce inappropriate behavior between the teachers and the students. This inappropriate behavior would be in the form of flirting between the teachers and the students. It would also be in instances that the teachers are tempted to assist their students to cheat in examinations so as to record good grades. Respect between the students and the teachers is also enhanced if a teacher is not left alone with a student, something that is likely to be lost if teachers start having close relationships with their students ((Edgerson & Kritsonis, 2006). It is therefore important for the principal to create a culture of ethical values in order to avoid some of these problems that are likely to arise. The ethical relationship between principal and teacher ensures the proper use of the internet in schools. It will ensure that the teachers use the internet purely for academic matters that improve the academic performance of the school and not for personal matters. The upholding of ethical values between the teacher and principal will create awareness for both the principal and teachers that school equipment is school property (Edgerson & Kritsonis, 2006). This will make the principals and the teachers to take responsibility and only use the school equipment for its required purposes. This will also reduce instances of theft in school in which the teachers might be tempted to steal school property for their own personal gains. From the foregoing analysis, it can be conclude that the ethical relationship between principal and teacher is very important due to the reasons analyzed above. References Ahmadi, Z. & Ebrahim, A.N. (2014). The relationship between professional ethics and conflict management of female principals of high schools in Karaj city of Iran. Iran: Kharazmi University. Chambers, J.H. (2011). The relationship between secondary school teachers’ perceptions of principal ethical leadership and organizational health. Knoxville: University of Tennessee. Edgerson, D.E., & Kritsonis, W.A., (2006). Analysis of the influence of principal-teacher relationships on students’ academic achievement: A national focus. National journal for publishing and mentoring doctoral student research, volume1, no.1. Karakose, T. (2007). High school teachers’ perceptions regarding principals’ ethical leadership in Turkey. Turkey: Dumlupinar University. Mitchell, M.S., (1995). Enabling good teaching performance: Performance management in education. California: Corwin Press, Inc. Sergiovanni, T.J.(1992). Moral leadership: Getting to the heat of school improvement. San Franscisco. Sharp, D.C., (2009). A study of the relationship between teacher empowerment and principal effectiveness. Bakar University. Weaver, R.L., (2001). What principals need to know about ethics. Northern Kentucky University. Read More