Leadership Transformation: The Search And Construction Of Principals' Leadership Ethics

Principal is the most important and influential person in school field in many aspects. In a sense, principal's effective leadership is the key to the success of the school. This paper explores the theoretical basis of the principal leadership action, conducts the logical analysis of its reality orientation, interprets the orientation legality of the bureaucratic leadership, and constructs the ethical pursuit of the principal leadership in leadership transformation on the basis of the integration of theory and practice, history and reality and all kinds of domestic and foreign relationships in a speculative research way. It follows the clues of theory coordination and analysis, practice of investigation and verification, theoretical reflection and construction.In the case of theoretical analysis of the basis of principal leadership action, two main aspects are discussed here:people and environment. On one hand, by reviewing and reflecting the human-nature-view in the classical management theory, behavioral science management theory, education management science theory and postmodern education management theory, the paper holds that scientific management ideas and hierarchy theory in the classical management theory, which profoundly impact on principals'leadership behaviors, "implant" the theoretical foundation for the emergence of the impersonal thinking and behavior in the practices of principal leadership. On the other hand, this paper theoretically examines the relationship between institutional environment and school organization and that between the institutional environment and the person, institutionalized and institutionalized education in school context. It holds that the institutional environment both provides basis for the legitimacy of school organizational bureaucracy and for a mechanism that "discipline" people, functioning as control and restraints like "iron cage" as Weber once called it.Does theoretical analysis meet the logic reality of principal leadership? This thesis explores the orientation possibility of the practices of principal leadership from the perspective of the system, which includes three levels:principal responsibility system and school organizations; principal responsibility system and the responsibility of principal leadership; principal responsibility system and human development. It holds that reality orientation of principal leadership is "invisible" and "bureaucratic" in practice. The orientation of the principal leadership has a connotation of control and discipline in which the individual is trapped in layers of control system under the comfortless school field. Thus, the individual will become managed and manipulated resulting in the emergence of "general mediocrity" in school field. In addition, the mechanism for the formation of reality orientation of principal leadership and its daily presentation are discussed.The bureaucratic orientation of principal leadership indicates the on-stage of executive power and the emergence of administrative centralization which is undoubtedly a shackle to school development. This leads to re-examine the legitimacy of principal's power. This thesis defines the notion of legitimacy and the legitimacy of principal leadership power; it expounds the basis for legitimacy of principal leadership power and then analyses the crisis of principal leadership power legitimacy and its manifestations. The legitimacy crisis, it is argued here, is a fact that the principal leadership power is illegitimate and fails to be recognized, supported or obeyed by subordinates. It is indeed a crisis of recognition, manifested in such forms as public crisis, procedural crisis and value crisis. The legitimacy crisis indicates that the principal leadership power can no more commensurate its intended values and mission, nor have subordinates'recognition, nor meet employees'development needs. The legitimacy of principal leadership power is therefore a knot of reform. Reconstruction of the principal leadership power legitimacy should proceed from the root of the legitimacy crisis, i.e. in the two bases for principal leadership actions:people and environment. This means, on one hand, to come back to and rebuild principal leadership humanity, and on the other hand, to reform and innovate principal leadership system.Principal leadership humanity means firstly to highlight human subjectivity in the bureaucracy system and to emphasize the role of human and human values. Among them, the virtue ethics is undoubtedly the most important theoretical basis for principal leadership ethic pursuits and for the search and construction of humanity connotations. Virtue ethics is an inward morality which focuses on personal ethics and moral development and aims ultimately to realize the subject's self perfection and self-development by improving personal moral qualities.Virtue ethics is the important ethical pursuits for principals, through its leadership practices, to become a moral and ethical subject, develop their own moral personalities and internalize ethical requirements into intrinsic moral qualities. Principal leadership actions should be conducted in the real "world of human significances", Principals should use their powers cautiously and morally, cherishing moral leadership and values, Principals should be learned leaders, and consciously enhance their own leadership, Principals should have the "life world view" and the multi-system view of changes and so on. It is concluded that the good governance is an effective mode of the principal virtue leadership. In the process towards good governance, legality, morality, democracy and effectiveness of principal leadership must be reflected.Virtue ethics has positive influence on the improvement of the inherent virtue, the coagulation of humanistic spirit and self-realization of principal leadership. Nevertheless, it has limits in realizing principal leadership values, as the improvement of leadership effectiveness and development of school education can hardly be maintained or promoted through individual moral improvement. It also requires effective constraints through outside norms, that is, the ethical system designs. This thesis argues that system ethics is the ethical basis for a system to be established and exist, or the total ethical values implied in system, moral principles and ethical evaluation on the system. Principal leadership system should on the one hand follow ethical principles including humanity, justice and system freedom, and on the other hand focus on value standards including the extent of people's all-round free development, the extent of the presentation and satisfaction of public wills and interest, the extent of improvement and balance of efficiency and effectiveness, and the extent of realization of justice in education. It also points out that the modern school system is an effective mode for innovative principal leadership system ethics, in addition to analysis of the connotation, value significance and practices of modern school system.