The Principal's Purpose: A Practical Guide to Moral and Ethical School Leadership

Citation

Furtado, L. (2008), "The Principal's Purpose: A Practical Guide to Moral and Ethical School Leadership", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 46 No. 5, pp. 660-663. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230810895564

Isaacson's (2007) book The Principal's Purpose: A Practical Guide to Moral and Ethical Leadership is an instructive read for aspiring and experienced principals. The book unfolds with clear methodologies for a school principal to create a school's vision statement, a five‐year plan, and a development strategy to reach the status of a great master school. Each chapter espouses the advantages of opportune planning, meeting‐logistics, agenda‐preparation, team‐building, and procedures for documentation. Within the chapter, each section is augmented with guiding questions for the principal and a list of potential answers. Why a principal should follow a moral, ethical and purposeful agenda towards school‐management is expounded throughout the book. This philosophical base is the cornerstone for Isaacson's how‐to guide towards the critical and challenged role of ethical leadership.

Chapter 1 initiates a brief exposure on morals, ethics, and purposeful living concepts. Examples and definitions permit the reader to note the distinctions (and commonalities) between what is moral, what is ethical, and what constitutes a purpose in life. Isaacson attributes ethical leadership with the necessity to reflect and be aware of one's actions at all times. She states (p. 19), “We must understand who we are, what we stand for, and to whom we are responsible. Once our belief systems are firmly planted, then we know our purpose. Our purpose will not waiver in spite of often difficult situations.” Similarly, the author references Sergiovanni (1992, p. 18) who describes this as “the heart, head, and hand of leadership”.

Chapter 2 presents a detailed practical guide for principals to undertake each day. The text highlights innumerable points‐of action that can be immediately implemented. Isaacson compares the school to a corporation, and the principal portrayed as its CEO. The school CEO is expected to construct an environment that has a purpose larger than the employment contract. The principal is obliged to exercise leadership and assemble an administrative support group that can collectively develop and illustrate the school vision. Practicing morals, ethics, and planning on a daily basis will have positive value for all the school's stakeholders including students, teachers, administrative staff, ancillary staff, school district members, school board members and the community.

In Chapter 3 the support group assists the principal in structuring a problem‐solving team which is responsible for transferring the school's vision and goals to teachers and staff within the school. According to Isaacson (p. 47), “The principal and administrative support group will train a group of staff members who clearly understand the mission, vision, values, and goals of the school. They serve as an outreach to their colleagues, students, and parents.” Isaacson continues with suggestions on where to start the training, what should be done, and how to train the staff members. Additional questions and suggested‐answers direct the principal in how to develop a faculty problem‐solving team. Organizing the first meeting, bringing documentation to the training session, introduction by the principal, defining the team's role and tasks to be undertaken are mentioned in separate sections. It is important for the team to encourage the entire school‐body to embrace the vision and goals of the school in a moral, ethical and purposeful manner.

Chapter 4 provides guidance on how‐to implement a school‐wide mission, vision, and goals. The author calls this moving “beyond the template”. Just facilitating the collection of data and answering questions or providing written documentation does not warrant the success of implementation by the support and problem‐solving teams. Apart from a common approach for the school's progress, these committed members must gain the confidence of the entire school staff and encourage them to actively participate. The process to be followed by the principal, the support group, and the problem‐solving team are described in this chapter. A detailed outline for an initial presentation by the principal is also provided.

Chapter 5 examines micro components of the school‐wide mission and outlines a method that encourages teachers to set individual goals within the overall plan. For effective performance by teachers, the principal needs to provide every teacher an opportunity to strengthen their foundational skills, time to reflect on their teaching, and a support system to help them succeed in the classroom. Support comes from the administrative team who can affectively address concerns and challenges. This support should be structured at the collective and individual levels of teacher needs. For example, school absences could surface as a school problem while improving reading comprehension could require grade‐level attention. Additionally, the author cautions against resolving problems without discerning the unique needs of novice, apprentice, master, and special education teachers. The essence of this chapter is that individual teacher goals are important; but these goals must merge within the overarching school mission, vision, and goals.

Chapter 6 advances beyond the recognition and acceptance of moral leadership attributes. The author provides extensive details on how support from an efficient administrative team can result in a well‐structured vertical and horizontal staff development. Explicit support and authentic training should correlate to the developmental levels of novice and veteran faculty. This is analogous to the strategies that teachers develop to differentiate classroom instruction. New teachers require support that provides (p. 108) “uncomplicated strategies” and “scaffolding techniques” to improve their professional role. Effective staff development sessions need to concentrate on accomplishing three things including (p. 108):

1. 1.

   it is practical for everyone;

2. 2.

   there is perceived value for the teacher's time; and

3. 3.

   it supports a school wide goal.

Empirical research advocates quality and pragmatic staff development as key to a successful deterrence of novice teacher attrition within the first three years of their profession. Hence, it requires a school leader to match a novice teacher with the best possible mentor and master teacher during the early years of teaching.

Parallel to excellent novice teacher development, the principal needs to attend to master teacher development opportunities. Master teacher development does not signify more of the assignments already being accomplished but rather engagements that nurture and stimulate the intellectual faculties of the teacher. Master teachers need principal support to identify and explore innovative ideas. The author suggests the set‐up of model classrooms, the training of trainers, conducting classroom action research, and holding book‐study sessions. Such activities can enhance the overall performance of student learning and teacher instruction skills.

Isaacson conveys a comprehensive message in her text that scholars in school leadership generally impart and supports what Trail (2000) succinctly summarized in earlier research. These authors assert that in order to shape the vision, a principal must work to include all the stakeholders throughout the entire change process. Such an inclusive strategy helps ensure not only the buy‐in of the stakeholders, but also an increased sense of empowerment and greater potential for long‐term sustainability of the school's reform efforts.

Isaacson has done a remarkable job to advocate for ethical school leadership. The extent of coverage and detailed instructional guide (with adequate research data) is reassuring support for principals who desire to become ethical and moral leaders in schools. Each chapter is well explained with subheadings, vignettes to be used as case study, guided questions, suggested answers, concluding questions and answers, survival tips, and summaries. The book concludes with a useful and well‐researched reference section and resource guide. School leaders can implement the strategies presented with the meeting and presentation formats as useful tools. While this is a book any educator may enjoy, it is best suited for novice and seasoned leaders in transition. The book is also highly recommended for leadership preparation programs for its constructive methods for engendering ethical and moral school leaders.