The Principal, Ethics, and Special Education Decisions

Abstract

school has been described by Cotton, Patterson, Browne, and Cotton (1979) as a &dquo;marginal role&dquo; that is &dquo;characterized by conflicting reference and peer group pressures.&dquo; Studies of marginality have focused on the anxiety, conflict, and stress that are incurred by the principal when operating between groups with conflicting interests. To be an effective principal it is important to maintain a marginal position; that is, not to become aligned with one interest group.To maintain marginality, a principal must understand the demands, goals, needs, and motivations of each pressure group. The principal must reconcile these with his or her own ethical standards and attempt to maintain harmony. Considering the varieties of ethical thought, and the disparate attitudes toward special education programs, the principal's task is not an easy one.As the principal functions in the &dquo;marginal role&dquo; as the most visible school administrator to parents, the ultimate authority to faculty, staff, and students, interpreter and implementer of district policy, arbitrator, role model, and the one who is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of the educational climate of the school, it is the principal who must ultimately deal with the various legal and ethical issues surrounding the implementation of P.L. 94-142.Implementing P.L. 94-142In some cases, there is friction and misunderstanding between regular and special education teachers. Regular class teachers sometimes resent having to take a special youngster into a class of 25-30 pupils when the special education teacher might only have 7-12 students. Regular class teachers might also be asked to collect information, assign points, and perhaps take the time to write a short note describing a special student's behavior when placed in the regular classroom.This is often interpreted as unrealistic and unjust. The special education teacher might take a stance that the handicapped student has worth and deserves every chance to succeed in the &dquo;main-stream&dquo; of the school. The regular classroom teacher might refer to the posture of wanting to do the &dquo;greatest good for the greatest number.&dquo;The classroom teacher might indicate that much time is being taken away from the 25-30 nonhandicapped students and that lesson presentations are taking at University of Manitoba Libraries on June 21, 2015 bul.sagepub.com Downloaded from

Diversity, Power and Influence: Multiple Perspectives on the Ethics of School Leadership

“…A review of literature on the ethics of school administration indicates that traditionally discussed ethical dilemmas revolve around critical incidenttype issues such as student placement; teacher free speech rights; distribution of resources; teacher evaluation and dismissal; intellectual freedom; application of rules; alteration of student records; yielding to influential constituents; complying with local, state, or federal regulations; dealing with teacher-parent and teacher-student conflicts; disclosure of sensitive information; nepotism; conflict of interest; and a variety of similar issues (see Ashbaugh and Kasten, 1984;Brennan and Brennan, 1988;Dempsey, Burr, Grady, Perry and Gaucher, 1988;Doggett, 1988;Greenfield, 1985;Harden, 1988;Kimbrough and Nunnery, 1988;Kirby, Paradise, and Protti, 1990;Strike, Haller and Soltis, 1988). Starratt (1991) has described this focus as the "ethics of choices that administrators make in given circumstances" (p. 187).…”

Ethical practice in the work lives of Iowa public high school principals

“…Several authors focused on the area of special education as being persistently fraught with ethical issues for school administrators. Brennan and Brennan (1988) noted friction and misunderstanding between regular and special education teachers. In fact, it was their perception that special education issues topped the list of situations most frequently cited by principals as presenting ethical challenges, specifically, placement decisions, discipline of special education students, and assigning special education-related support services.…”