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Chapter 6 - What Are the Qualities of an Ethical Educator?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2020

Douglas J. Simpson
Affiliation:
Texas Christian University
Donal M. Sacken
Affiliation:
Texas Christian University
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Summary

Much has been written about the qualities of a good leader and teacher, especially if good is loosely employed as a synonym for competent or successful (Darling-Hammond 1996; Zhao 2010). Of course, an educator’s being good or ethical overlaps with being competent, but the two interests, even when intersecting, are distinguishable (Biesta 2015). Our interest largely focuses on traits (e.g., attitudes, dispositions, habits) and behaviors (e.g., acts, conduct, endeavors) that help describe a person as good regardless of whether they are a cashier, principal, parent, politician, or social worker. Obviously, the roles one accepts – familial, civic, career, government – affect some, if not many, manifestations of one’s character. Considering the complexities of an individual’s personality, life, and culture, Dewey thought that behavioral expressions of qualities are multifaceted, being variable yet stable, personal yet situational, organismic yet contextual, and predictable yet unforeseen. For him, these factors and more influence how a person comes to be described as a good or ethical educator.

Type
Chapter
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Ethical Dilemmas in Schools
Collaborative Inquiry, Decision-Making, and Action
, pp. 130 - 165
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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References

Related Readings

Bergman, Roger. 2005. “John Dewey on Educating the Moral Self.” Studies in Philosophy and Education, no. 24, 39–62.Google Scholar
Biesta, G. 2015. “How Does a Competent Teacher Become a Good Teacher?” Philosophical Perspectives on Teacher Education, 1–22.Google Scholar
Campbell, Elizabeth. 2003. The Ethical Teacher. UK: McGraw-Hill Education.Google Scholar
Dewey, John. 1922. “Character and Conduct.” In Human Nature and Conduct. Vol. 14 of John Dewey: The Middle Works, 1899–1924, edited by Boydston, Jo Ann, 1189. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1988.Google Scholar
Hare, W. 2007. “Credibility and Credulity: Monitoring Teachers for Trustworthiness.” Journal of Philosophy of Education 41 (2): 207–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Higgins, C. 2003. “Teaching and the Good Life: A Critique of the Ascetic Ideal in Education.” Educational Theory 53 (2): 131–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tan, Sor-hoon. 2019. “The Dao of Politics: Li (Rituals/Rites) and Laws as Pragmatic Tools of Government.” The Journal of School & Society 6 (2): 81103.Google Scholar

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