Ethics in Administration

Abstract

The SUBJECT of ethics and morals and their application to educational administration is a relatively recent phenomenon. Ethics and morals had been left to the philosophers, but now issues and problems are being raised in educational administration that require the attention of the moral philosopher. Professional groups, including educational administrators in other countries, are now endeavouring to produce ethical codes and guidelines for future behaviour. But in Zimbabwe, this responsibility seems to have been left with the government. Ethical and moral values are so important that they must be set down to provide guidelines. Whether this is carried out by the relevant professional association, as in medicine and law, or by government legislation, as was done in Alberta, Canada, in 1977, and in Zimbabwe through the Unified Teaching Service, is immaterial at this stage, but the result will be very much the same. Professional bodies and groups of all types are now highly conscious of the need to produce an ethical and moral code for the assistance of members in maintaining a high level of integrity, and in protecting themselves. The main purpose of this article is to bring together some of the current views on ethical behaviour and to focus on the actions of the educational administrator to see whether his conduct can be classified as ethically right and ethically good. Some examples will be given of unethical practices that are taking place in schools today.