A study of the approaches school administrators use in making ethical decisions within the typical county public school district

The purpose of this study was to determine the approach made by public school administrators to ethical dilemmas. This study also looked at influential circumstances that could affect one's ethical decisions and asked school administrators to describe typical ethical dilemmas they had faced. Through the use of a questionnaire and an interview guide, data were collected. In the selected school system, 29 administrators responded to the questionnaire, making the response rate 85 percent. Fifteen of these administrators agreed to participate in a follow-up interview.Major findings of the study revealed the following:1. Most school administrators used either a situational or a utilitarian approach to ethical situations.2. While a little more than half of the respondents were influenced by the circumstances stated in the questionnaire, most of the circumstances were positive (good) circumstances rather than negative (bad) circumstances.3. The number of years experience as an administrator was not related to one's ethical approach.4. While school administrators were faced with many types of ethical dilemmas, they mentioned problems with (1) special education, (2) staff conflicts, and (3) student discipline more frequently.5. Most of the interviewed administrators felt that the number of ethical dilemmas and the intensity of each increased every year.6. Sixty percent of the interviewed administrators said that they had made ethical decisions that later they regretted.