What does ‘ethical leadership’ mean to educational leaders in Christian schools? : belief, values and leadership in practice

This thesis explores the moral values and the application of these values by Christian headteachers in Catholic and Protestant schools in England. Although the amount of research on leadership in general and educational leadership, in particular, is substantial, the critical issue of the ethical dimension of educational leadership and the role that values and ethics play in school leadership is still relatively understudied. This is especially apparent in the non-Anglican, Protestant field. Furthermore, no studies have focused specifically on our comparison between the values of Catholic and Protestant headteachers in England and how these values are applied to resolve tensions and dilemmas.
The nature of this study is qualitative and it has drawn insights from phenomenology and has focused specifically on the understanding that a selected group of English Catholic and Protestant headteachers has of the experience of ethical educational leadership in a Christian faith school context. The thesis first outlines the historical
context of education in England, focusing on the contribution made by different Christian denominations as a backdrop for the empirical research on moral values,
tensions and dilemmas of six Catholic and six Protestant headteachers.
The data collected came from twelve Christian headteachers working in Catholic, independent Christian and Christian-ethos schools in England. An interpretive phenomenological approach was adopted to gain access to the lived experience of these headteachers through semistructured interviews. The headteachers shared their recollections of their upbringing, faith, and life experiences. They also offered their interpretation of how these have shaped their values. Furthermore, they elaborated on their experience of the application of these values in their current leadership role and the meaning that they attribute to these experiences.
The findings suggest that their values are based on their Christian faith, which plays a significant role in their personal and professional lives. Religious convictions were used regularly to understand the role’s demands and resolve and manage difficult situations in their schools, especially those with a moral dimension. Analysis of the data revealed that although there were some differences between both groups, the similarities were relatively more significant. The content of the interviews showed almost complete agreement on the most fundamental issues concerning morality and the role of the leader. The study concludes with a call for further research in leadership ethics and ethical leadership in general and in the field of Christian faith schools.