School Leaders' Ethical Decision-making Related to Student Cyberbullying: A Multi-case Study of Two Tennessee School Districts

This multi-case study was designed to explore cyberbullying issues and how school leaders handle student issues related to cyberbullying. I explored how ethical decisions related to student cyberbullying are processed within two school districts in Tennessee. Furthermore, understanding how districts implement and interpret Tennessee Bullying and Harassment Policies helps in exploring school leaders' ethical decision-making process regarding student cyberbullying. Shapiro and Stefkovich's (2021) multiple ethical paradigms, care, critique, justice, and the profession, provided a comprehensive framework for analyzing how school leaders process complex 21^st-century ethical decisions related to student-centered cyberbullying issues. A multi-case study supports the research questions by purposeful sampling of middle and high school principals, assistant principals, and district leaders in two Tennessee school districts. The findings focused on school leaders' experiences related to the complexities of investigating cyberbullying cases, supporting the students involved, and the district and school leaders providing adequate training to their staff, students, and parents. School leaders' ethical decision-making was influenced by their adherence to their district’s bullying and harassment policies and the consistent theme throughout of focus on the student’s best interests.