The Degree of Practicing Ethical Leadership by Secondary School Teachers in Jordan: Teachers’ Perspectives

                                     کلية التربية

        کلية معتمدة من الهيئة القومية لضمان جودة التعليم

        إدارة: البحوث والنشر العلمي ( المجلة العلمية)

                       =======

The Degree of Practicing Ethical Leadership          by Secondary School Teachers in Jordan: Teachers’ Perspectives

By

Sahar Mahmoud Al-Zoubi

Prof / Mohammad Sayel Al-Zyoud

School of Educational Sciences

University of Jordan

}     المجلد السابع والثلاثون– العدد الثامن –  أغسطس 2021م {

http://www.aun.edu.eg/faculty_education/arabic

نبذة مختصرة

تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى التعرف على درجة ممارسة القيادة الأخلاقية من قبل معلمي المرحلة الثانوية في الأردن من وجهة نظرهم. لتحقيق هدف الدراسة تم استخدام طريقة المسح. ونظراً لطبيعة الدراسة فقد تم تطوير استبيان واختيار عينة عشوائية بسيطة مکونة من (1727) معلماً ومعلمة. تظهر نتائج الدراسة أن درجة ممارسة القيادة الأخلاقية من قبل معلمي المرحلة الثانوية في الأردن من وجهة نظرهم عالية.

في ضوء نتائج الدراسة أوصت الدراسة بوضع برامج تدريبية للمعلمين لجميع المراحل التعليمية بناءً على مبادئ وممارسات القيادة الأخلاقية لدى المعلمين ، وتحفيز المعلمين الذين يستخدمون الأساليب الفعالة في تعزيز القيم والشخصية الأخلاقية بين طلابهم. الحوافز المعنوية والمالية ، وإجراء المزيد من الدراسات حول القيادة الأخلاقية ودرجة ممارستها في مرحلتي التعليم الابتدائي والإعدادي ، وحول القيادة الأخلاقية وعلاقتها بالمتغيرات الأخرى.

الکلمات المفتاحية : القيادة الأخلاقية - معلمي المرحلة الثانوية

Abstract

This study aims to identify the degree of practicing ethical leadership by secondary school teachers in Jordan from their perspectives. To achieve the objective of the study, the survey method has been used. Due to the nature of the study, a questionnaire is developed and a simple random sample consisting of (1727) male and female teachers is selected. The results of the study show that the degree of practicing ethical leadership by secondary school teachers in Jordan from their perspectives is of high degree.

In light of the results of the study, the study has recommended developing training programs for teachers for all educational stages based on the principles and practices of ethical leadership among teachers, motivating teachers who use effective methods in promoting values and ethical character among their students with moral and financial incentives, and conducting more studies on ethical leadership and the degree of its practice in the elementary and preparatory educational stages, and about ethical leadership and its relationship to other variables.

Keywords: Ethical Leadership - Secondary School Teachers .

1. Introduction

The excellence of institutions in all their forms, types, and the diverse nature of their work is mainly based on the excellence of their leadership through their possession of science, knowledge, experience, competence, and vision for the future. Its distinction is also based on the ethics that govern the work of the leaders of these institutions and their commitment to the controls imposed by the nature of the institution's work to achieve the highest levels of integrity in work and production and in a manner that preserves the dignity of those who work or deal with these institutions.

These requirements and developments have an impact and demand on education. Today, the school is more than ever required to make every possible effort to educate a person capable of thinking positively provided with knowledge and basic skills, which enable him to achieve intelligent adaptation with the nature of his time and the characteristics of the environment around him in light of the rapid and successive changes and developments.

The importance of education is highlighted in the formation of a mature, sensible personality, possessing good morals, capable of production, keeping pace with developments, and adapting to the spirit of the modern era. These characteristics have helped the individual achieve liberation, excellence, creativity, and success in his life through building and improving his society, eliminating the multiple crises that exist in society, along with making the society free from the moral and social diseases that it constantly undergoes (Eid, 2021).

Ethical leadership has been defined in multiple definitions according to the areas of work and fields, as (Brown, Treviño, & Harrison, 2005, p. 48) define it as “Showing normatively appropriate behavior such as honesty, goodness, integrity, and morality for followers to follow in various real-life situations. The reinforcement of followers’ behavior is achieved through two-way communication; reinforcement by providing ethical standards, rewarding ethical behavior, and disciplining violators, and reinforcement through decision-making by making followers understand the importance of their decisions to make fair decisions. Ethical leadership is also defined as “A process of influence practiced by administrative leaders to motivate others to achieve the desired goals through a commitment to behaviors characterized by moral characteristics such as credibility, honesty, justice, altruism, compassion, and transparency, alongside encouraging such behaviors by discussing ethical issues to modify and improve and promoting ethical behavior at work (Jaithni, 2017, p. 35).

Leadership plays a vital role in the life of organizations. The leader is responsible for coordinating the efforts of his subordinates, motivating them, improving their performance, and raising their morale to achieve the goals of the organization in an atmosphere of complete satisfaction among the workers affecting his success (Ghamdi, 2019). There are many styles and forms of leadership in Arab organizations, where a new type of leadership always appears. Despite the great interest in the different leadership styles, the ethical leadership style has not yet received sufficient attention that befits its importance in the lives of organizations, especially educational organizations, and its impact on the formation of the student’s personality from ethical and value dimensions. Ethical leadership is a leadership style that depends on the ethics of leaders, in which morals stand out on the concepts of power and authority to achieve the aspirations and mutual needs of the leader and followers (Saud, 2012). The importance of ethical leadership appears in its positive relationship with many variables, including the development of the moral character of students. More precisely, the importance of ethical leadership appears through the appropriate behaviors that appear from educational leaders and teachers, which are important directives and have a clear impact on the behavior of other learners (Zeng & Xu, 2020).

Ethical leadership represents a set of behaviors and actions practiced by the educational leader towards the learner using appropriate and reliable means and methods to provide the learner with the virtues of morals that make him a good human being able to contribute positively to his community and country. Ethical leadership is a system of thought based on a set of positive rules that include what should be done in each situation. The ethical dimensions of ethical leadership behaviors, which make the learner an essential focus of educational leadership activities, are determined by possessing the values of honesty, morality, and sincerity, paying attention to the principles of human relations and how to protect them, respecting regulations and laws and working to implement and develop them, maintaining the quality of the teaching process and working to develop it, and committing to contracts and institutional charters within the framework of work (Assaf and Qadah, 2020).

Ethical leadership is one of the innovations that have made its way to the institutions of work, production, and educational institutions for decades, and its presence has extended in various institutions and facilities these days. Ethical leadership is also one of the leadership styles that have a positive impact and effectiveness on the behavior patterns of others, whether teachers or students, and includes multiple criteria and principles for judging them, such as the characteristics of the ethical personality, the ethical administrative qualities, and the qualities of collective science and human relations, which have an impact on the level of performance and production (Jennifer Ah-Kion and Uma Bhowon, 2017).

Ethical principles are requirements for a leader's performance to carry out his work with professionalism and credibility. The importance of management ethics rests in its role in the process of self-management and directing the behavior of the leader in his organization to achieve ethical principles such as justice, equality, and honesty in the treatment of employees. Leadership and work ethics has become an important            topic that receives the attention of various educational institutions,           proceeding from the necessity of adhering to the principles and ethical              behavioral values ​​at the individual and collective levels in the profession (Bo Abbas 2010).

2. Problem of the Study

Looking at the results of any relevant previous studies, such as the results of a study of (Abu Kush, 2012) and (Jaithni, 2017) show that the school has a role towards achieving learning and educational goals, including behavioral (ethical) goals through its management and teachers, as teachers represent the main pillar in the development of all aspects of the students' personality, including the moral aspect, whose development depends on the leadership that they possess. The ethical leadership of teachers has recently witnessed a clear weakness through undesirable practices of teachers and students such as transparency and acceptance of the other opinion alike. Given the pivotal role of ethical leadership in school excellence, the problem of the study lies in identifying the degree of practicing ethical leadership by secondary school teachers in Jordan from their perspectives.

3. Question of the Study

Due to the nature of the study, the following question is articulated.

*What is the degree of practicing ethical leadership by secondary school teachers in Jordan from their perspectives?

4. Objective of the Study

The following objective is formulated to answer the question of          the study.

* Identify the degree of practicing ethical leadership by secondary school teachers in Jordan from their perspectives.

5. Significance of the Study

The significance of this study lies in the novelty of the topic and the lack of studies and research that have dealt with the subject of the study as the topic of the degree of practicing ethical leadership by secondary school teachers in Jordan from their perspectives is of great interest to many higher education institutions, accreditation bodies, and researchers at the global, Arab and Jordanian levels. Also, the importance of this study generally stems from the importance. The theoretical significance of the subject of the study is to identify the degree of practicing ethical leadership by secondary school teachers in Jordan from their perspectives as ethics is the fundamental basis for building and developing society. The study is also useful for enriching the library with new educational concepts related to ethical values ​​and ethical qualities that must be represented by educational leaders such as principals, mentors, and teachers. The practical significance of the study also stems from applying the results of the study and generalizing them to teachers to take them into practice to embody the principles of ethical leadership among teachers and students and disseminate, apply and teach them at the hands of experts and qualified teachers to become part of students’ lives. The study also helps principals to take the necessary directives to adopt ethical values in education through teachers' application of them and students' adherence to their implementation.

6. Terms of the Study

The following is the term and definition adopted for the study.

Ethical leadership: It is defined as a set of behaviors and actions carried out by the leader, i.e. the teacher towards the learner, using appropriate means through which the learner can be endowed with the ethical virtues that make him a good person useful to society and his country (Otaibi, 2013, p. 26).

7. Previous Studies

This section includes the entire studies related to the current study, and they are arranged in chronological order from the oldest to the most recent. Sharifi and Tanah (2011) aim to reveal the degree of ethical leadership practice by private secondary school principals in the Emirate of Sharjah in UEA and its relationship to the degree of teacher empowerment. Due to the nature of the study, the descriptive correlative approach has been used. The study sample consists of (200) male and female teachers in private secondary schools and two instruments are used to collect data. The results show that the degree of principals' practice of ethical leadership is of a medium degree, alongside a positive correlation between the degree of principals' practice of ethical leadership and administrative empowerment.

Stiab and Maninger (2012) have aimed to identify the quality of ethical leadership in school administration. The study sample consists of three principals of primary and secondary schools in the US state of Texas. Due to the nature of the study, the corresponding study has been used as an instrument for all data according to the qualitative approach. The results show that school principals have not received training in the field of ethical leadership, along with differences in the practice of ethical leadership due to the size of the educational district, and favor of              small areas.

Abu Kush (2012) aims to identify the level of leadership traits and social responsibility among students participating in student activities and the relationship between student activities and leadership traits and social responsibility. Due to the nature of the study, the descriptive correlative approach has been used. The study sample includes (840) students from the total study population consisting of (54426) middle school students in public and UNRWA schools in Gaza for the academic year 2011/2012. The questionnaire has been used in the study to collect data from the study sample’s participants. The results of the study show that the relative weight of leadership traits is (78.5%), the relative weight of physical traits is (80.8%), the relative weight of social traits is (78.6%), the relative weight of mental and cognitive traits is (78.2%), and the relative weight of emotional and behavioral traits is (76.2%).

Arain, Sheikh, & Asadullah (2017) have aimed to identify the impact of ethical leadership among faculty members on the moral identity and academic citizenship behaviors of students in Pakistan. The study sample consists of (256) students and faculty members. To achieve the objectives of the study, the descriptive approach has used through a questionnaire. The results reveal a positive impact of the ethical leadership of faculty members on the ethical identity and academic citizenship behaviors of students in Pakistan.

Jaithni (2017) aims to identify the degree of ethical leadership practiced by primary school principals in the Gaza governorates and its relationship to organizational citizenship behavior from the point of view of teachers. Due to the nature of the study, the descriptive-analytical correlative approach has been used.  The study includes (450) teachers from the study population consisting of (3853) teachers. To collect data, two questionnaires are used as follows: one for ethical leadership and the other for organizational citizenship. The results of the study show that the degree of principals' practice of ethical leadership is of high degree with statistically significant differences between the estimates of the study sample to the degree of principals' practice of ethical leadership due to the gender variable in favor of females while there are no differences due to the variable of academic qualification and years of experience. The study also shows that the degree of organizational citizenship practice by managers is of high degree with statistically significant differences between the estimates of the study sample of the degree of their practice of organizational citizenship behavior due to the gender variable in          favor of females.

 In terms of objectives and subject matter, most of the previous studies have dealt with the subject of the study on ethical leadership and ethical leadership behavior among school principals or educational and administrative leaders. Other studies have also dealt with the issue of identifying personality from administrative aspects and exploring the characteristics of that personality in the educational and administrative domain, including the study of (Jaithni, 2017) which identifies the degree of ethical leadership practice and its relationship to organizational citizenship behavior by primary school principals in UNRWA in the governorates of Gaza.

In terms of methodology, previous studies have addressed the methodology that serves the purposes and objectives of the study. Most of the studies have used the descriptive approach, as it is the most widely used method in educational and social studies, which is based on collecting and analyzing information to draw the required results. However, the current study has taken advantage of previous studies in enriching the theoretical literature, as it has constituted the main source for much important information, its general frameworks, and procedural methods. Moreover, these studies have helped the researchers conduct many appropriate pieces of research, studies, and references and enabled them to form a comprehensive vision of the theoretical frameworks that should be included in this study.

8. Limitations of the Study

This study is limited to all secondary school teachers in the North, Middle, and South regions in Jordan. This study is also limited to the extended period during the first semester of the academic year 2020/2021. This study is also limited to three Jordanian regions: the North, the Middle, and the South. The results of the study are determined by the extent of validity of the results that depend on the validity, reliability, and responses of the study participants to the measurement instruments used.

9. Methodology of the Study

To achieve the objectives of the study, the survey approach, given its suitability to the nature of the problem, as the study aims to identify the degree of practicing ethical leadership by secondary school teachers in Jordan from their perspectives.

Study Population

The study population consists of all teachers in Jordanian secondary schools, where the statistics of the Ministry of Education indicate that the number of teachers in secondary schools is (17480) teachers (Statistical Report of the Ministry of Education 2017/2018).

Study Sample

The study sample has been selected according to the stratified random sampling method from the study population. It is determined by a representative proportion of the total community, where a sample of (1727) male and female teachers is selected at a rate of (10%) of the original population as shown in Table (1).

Table (1)

Frequencies and Percentages According to the Variables of the Study

Study Instrument

An instrument is developed to achieve the objective of the study, which is to identify the degree of practicing ethical leadership by secondary school teachers in Jordan from their perspectives.

Study Instrument Validity

The validity of the instrument is verified using content validity.

Study Instrument Reliability

The reliability of the study instrument is verified using the test-retest method, where the values have ranged between (0.80 - 0.85) and the total value is (0.87).

10. Results and Discussion

The following is a discussion of the study question “What is the degree of practicing ethical leadership by secondary school teachers in Jordan from their perspectives?”

To answer this question, arithmetic means and standard deviations of the degree of practicing ethical leadership by secondary school teachers in Jordan from their perspectives are calculated as shown in Table (2).

Table 2

Arithmetic Means and Standard Deviations of the Degree of Practicing Ethical Leadership by Secondary School Teachers in Jordan from their Perspectives Arranged in Descending Order According to the Arithmetic Means

Table (2) shows that the degree of practicing ethical leadership by secondary school teachers in Jordan from their perspectives is of a high degree with an arithmetic mean of (3.82) and a standard deviation of (0.85). This may be attributed to the Ministry of Education’s interest in spreading the principles of ethical leadership in all schools of the Kingdom and urging workers in the educational field to adhere to these principles in practicing their educational and leadership professions. The reason for this interest is due to the most important part in the personality of the learner, which is the intellectual aspect based on teachers' dealing with minds, souls, and bodies, as this physical and moral interaction depends largely on the practice of ethical leadership among teachers. The teacher, who has the qualities of ethical leadership, seeks to achieve the goal of education in Jordan, which is to raise a conscious and enlightened generation, who believes in God, is loyal to his country, trusts himself, realizes his national and humanitarian mission, adheres to the principles of truth, goodness, and beauty, and achieves the ideals in individual behavior and collective behavior (Hamad and Beljat, 2018).

The mission in which the school is based is to prepare a good citizen for his society and his country through having direct and continuous contact of the teacher with the students, providing help and assistance to them by informing them of appropriate teaching methods, and solving problems related to them, guiding the students to what is in their interest, and making teachers realize that the involvement of students in proposing solutions to a problem enhances active participation in learning and makes students feel that they can participate in the decision-making process, in addition to the student's positive feeling towards self-esteem, develop his independence, his cognitive abilities, and his metacognitive participation. The availability of ethical values among teachers contributes to their dealings with students as the teacher represents an educational leader in front of his students who works on preparing and shaping the students’ personality and crystallizing it according to the requirements of life. More precisely, preparing and shaping students’ personality is a major factor in achieving the goals of the educational process, developing positive attitudes towards teaching and learning, and contributing to creating a positive classroom climate, which leads to activating the teaching and learning processes on the one hand, and developing positive behaviors among students on the           other hand.

11. Recommendations

In light of the results of the study, several recommendations such as developing training programs for teachers for all educational levels based on the principles and practices of ethical leadership among teachers, motivating teachers who use effective methods in promoting values and ethical character among their students with moral and financial incentives, and conducting further studies on ethical leadership and the degree of its practice in the basic and preparatory educational stages, and ethical leadership and its relationship to other variables.

References

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Arain, G., Sheikh, A. & Asadullah, I. (2017). Do as I do. Effect of teachers’ ethical leadership on business students’ academic citizenship behaviors. Ethics & Behavior, 27(8), 665–680.

Assaf, Jamal and Qadah, Muhammad. (2020). The degree to which social studies teachers at the secondary stage practice ethical leadership and its relationship to teaching organizational values ​​from their point of view in Erdem. Journal of the Islamic University of Educational and Psychological Studies, 28(6), 485-502.

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