Educational Leadership and Moral Literacy: The Dispositional Aims of Moral Leaders

249 Pages·2014·1.03 MB·English

by  Patrick M. Jenlink

Educational Leadership and
Moral Literacy
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Educational Leadership and
Moral Literacy
The Dispositional Aims of Moral Leaders
Edited by Patrick M. Jenlink
ROWMAN&LITTLEFIELD
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PublishedbyRowman&Littlefield
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Copyright©2014byPatrickM.Jenlink
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyany
electronicormechanicalmeans,includinginformationstorageandretrievalsystems,
withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptbyareviewerwhomayquote
passagesinareview.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Educationalleadershipandmoralliteracy:thedispositionalaimsofmoralleaders/EditedbyPatrick
M.Jenlink.
pagescm
ISBN978-1-61048-726-9(cloth:alk.paper)--ISBN978-1-61048-727-6(pbk.:alk.paper)--ISBN
978-1-61048-728-3(electronic)
1.Educationalleadership--Moralandethicalaspects.2.Educationalleaders--Professionalethics.I.
Jenlink,PatrickM.,editorofcompilation.
LB1779.E362014
174'.937--dc23
2013046510
TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican
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Materials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
ThisbookisdedicatedtoThomasD.Franks,Dean,retired,andProfessor
Emeritus,StephenF.AustinStateUniversity.Asanadvocatefordoctoral
studiesineducationalleadership,Dr.Franksexhibitedthemoraldisposi-
tionsemblematicofamoralleader.Hisstrengthofmoralcharacterstood
thetestandprevailed,hislegacyasfacultymember,chair,anddean
speaksmorethanwords.Hewillforeverbeafriend,colleague,and
mentor.

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xiii
Introduction:Leadership,Morality,andMoralLeadershipfor
Today’sSchools 1
PatrickM.Jenlink
SectionI:MoralLeadershipforToday’sSchools 13
1 TheMoralNatureofEducationalLeadership:Examiningthe
DispositionalAimsofMoralLeadership 17
PatrickM.Jenlink
2 MoralLiteracy—ARequisiteforMoralLeadership 37
PatrickM.Jenlink
SectionII:MoralDispositionsandtheMoralNatureofLeadership 51
3 MoralCommitment:Scholar–PractitionersMakingChoices
withStrengthofPurpose 55
CatherineYorkAmonett
4 MoralRespectandtheSchoolAdministrator 69
FrederickJ.Black,Jr.
5 MoralAuthenticityasaDispositionoftheScholar–Practitioner 79
CynthiaLindley
6 TheFaceoftheMorallyResponsibleScholar–Practitioner 93
OrlandoVargas
7 MoralReasonablenessandtheScholar–Practitioner 103
WalterBevers
vii
viii Contents
8 AMessagetoEducationalLeaders 113
DonnaPorter
9 MoralCritique 123
TobyNix
10 MoralIntegrity 133
NathanielSession
11 MoralCourage 145
DeniceMcCormickMyers
12 ExaminingMoralJusticeandItsImplicationsforEquityand
AccessinthePursuitofDemocraticSchooling 157
StefanieBush
13 MoralHumility 169
BrianNichols
14 MoralSelflessnessandtheScholar–Practitioner 181
LaurieStoneRogers
15 MoralPerseverance 189
AngelaWright
SectionIII:MoralLeadership:Reflections 201
16 TheScholar–PractitionerasMoralBeing 203
KarenEmbryJenlink
17 Coda:TheLeaderasMoralArchitect 219
PatrickM.Jenlink
AbouttheAuthors 227
Acknowledgments
The idea for this book began with explorations of ethical and moral leader-
ship in a doctoral course in ethics and philosophy of leadership I teach at
Stephen F. Austin State University. Central to this idea was a concern for
understandingthedispositionsofamoralleader.Asetofquestionsemerged:
What makes a moral leader moral? What dispositions does a moral leader
require in order to lead with moral conviction? What are the dispositional
aims necessary to follow the moral obligation of leading a school? These
questionshaveshapedmyworkforseveralyears.
In the summer of 2009 a new doctoral cohort began its studies and with
that new cohort I began to explore the nature of moral leadership from the
perspectiveofmoraldispositions,identifyingthemoralnatureofeducational
leaders.Situatingtheexplorationofmoralleadershipinmydoctoralcourses,
as time passed the exploration became the focus of dialogues with doctoral
studentsonseveraloccasions.
Thedialoguesevolved,juxtaposingthepracticalworldinwhichdoctoral
studentsworkedwiththemorephilosophicalunderpinningsofmoralleader-
shipfoundinreadings.Throughoutthedialogues,acrossthesemesters,there
was an emerging idea, perhaps born out of the exploration of those earlier
questions.Theideatooktheformofaquestion:Whatwouldabookonmoral
leadership look like that focused specifically on a set of moral dispositions?
Fromthatpointforwardthebookproject,astheysay,becamereality.
The book was conceived as being grounded in the reality that, as the
schoolleaderisengageddailyinhis/herworkandbecomesdrawnmoreand
moreintothecomplexitiesofleadershipthatisinasensethemoralarchitec-
ture of the school, he/she will needto understandthe nature of what being a
moral leader means. On a deeper level it requires the leader to have a high
degreeofmoralliteracy.Aswell,itwasconceivedasanimportantinterface
ix