Exploring Generative Moral Decisions in Educational Leadership (Poster 30)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Two
  In Poster Session: Theories and Practices in Moral Development and Education

Abstract

Interviews with six school and district leaders from a mid-sized New England school district explored the constructs of moral literacy (Tuana, 2007) and moral imagination (Fesmire, 2003; Godwin, 2008, 2015; Johnson, 1992; Martin, 2007; Werhane, 1999) to better understand the connections between moral imagination and generative decision-making.
The findings from this study suggest that ethics sensitivity in generative decisions was related to organizational culture and context. When making generative moral decisions, school and district leaders relied on specific moral frameworks. Participants developed possible resolutions to these moral issues. Decision-making was identified as an iterative process that requires a level of consensus. The importance of centering the voices of people from historically marginalized groups emerged as essential throughout the decision-making process.

Author

• Arik R. Mortenson, Essex Westford School District
  Presenting Author