Save 51% on Expert-Crafted Assignment Solutions!
Logo
Order Now

Login

0

Ethical Leadership and Organizational Culture in Schools

University: Oxford University

  • Unit No: 4
  • Level: High school
  • Pages: 53 / Words 13190
  • Paper Type: Assignment
  • Course Code: n/a
  • Downloads: 55

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study 

Ethical behaviour synthesizes the foundation of the portrayal of society progress by enhancing its trust, accountability and fairness. Although business management is well understood to require ethical consideration, its incorporation into educational institutions is poorly researched. Schools as one of the first formative institutions within society are assigned the role of developing proper morality in generations to come. Nonetheless, some issues including; poor leadership practices, lack of openness and accountability, and ineffective governance structures sometimes deny them a chance to practice what they preach (Kalkan et. al., 2020). Informed by this management scholarship, this study explores whether ethical leadership and organizational culture can be imported into schools as a sustainable means of maintaining ethical practices.

The topic can be considered particularly worthy because it is interdisciplinary, connecting two spheres, business management and education. Organisations seek to employ well-known ethical models such as the corporate social responsibility, code of ethics and business performance management that would enhance ethical practices and consciousness. Due to the mentioned challenges in schools, these strategies may be adopted by enhancing ethical standards amongst the stakeholders, unethical practices, lack of trust and mismanagement (Atasoy, 2020).

The research problem is thus focused on the approach that can be implemented to encourage ethical behaviour in schools. Today in many educational institutions there is no systematic approach to the formation of ethical leadership, which creates deficiencies in responsibility, openness, and control. In order to fill these gaps, this study seeks to draw from business management knowledge. If you are looking for more free examples of assignment then you can visit Instant Assignment Help where you can free samples of every subject.

1.2. Research problem 

Schools are centres of moulding ethical and moral subjects of the society and the upcoming generations of leadership. Nevertheless, schools experience some major difficulties in enhancing and sustaining ethical conduct of the stakeholders, the latter including students, teachers, principals, and parents. These are some of the challenges facing organizations: leadership practice: Organizational culture: ethical policies: governance systems: accountability mechanisms: These are the aspects that have negative impact on trust, transparency, and integrity needed to foster fair and supportive learning climate (Akanji, et. al., 2020). As for the business organizations, ethical practices have been in use in different levels for many years, including CSR, codes of conduct and performance management systems, but in case of schools, there is no systematized approach to ethical governance yet. This paper examines how school leadership, culture and governance structures in schools are weak in handling ethical issues and leads to unfair practices, bias and conflicts of interest.

The present research issue focuses on the ways in which the principles of ethical leadership and organizational culture in business management can be effectively utilised in improving ethical practices in schools. Therefore, this research sets out to establish the lacunae of the existing ethical practices in educational institutions and examine the possibility of borrowing some of the business ethical models with the intent of creating an effective framework to enhance accountability, transparency, and integrity in schools in order to make them more effective and beneficial to the society (Day, Sammons, and Gorgen, 2020).

1.3. Research Rationale

The premise for this study is formed by the fact that it can benefit both educational and managerial sciences to a great extent. This paper identifies that schools are faced with ethical issues like bias, embezzlement of funds and bias when addressing issues. All these challenges also erode trust with stakeholders and also significantly threaten the creation of a fair learning environment. Despite the fact that structured practices of business ethics, for example, sound leadership models and ethical standards have been in practice for a long time, schools have not fully benefited from them (Miller, 2023).

This research is unique in that it provides a fresh approach to the study of business by examining how business concepts may be applied to schools. As the study suggests a specific ethical model based on business practices, it is expected to contribute to raising the educational institutions' responsibility, openness and ethical standards. The implications of the findings will be of value to educators, policymakers, and administrators because they will learn practical strategies for promoting ethical conduct in schools (Berkovich, and Eyal, 2021).

1.4. Overview of the organisation

In this study, the context is the broad spectrum of schools in various educational environments to permit the identification of ethical practices. Schools being societal institutions, contain numerous human beings within this institution, which include the learners, teachers, parents and subordinate staff. Both groups have different expectations and responsibilities, therefore; schools are the best places where leadership, governance, and ethical behaviours can be best studied (Hyseni Duraku, and Hoxha, 2021).

Thus, while the current study does not lend itself to an analysis of a single organization, the cases to be discussed will be drawn from schools that operate on ethical policies, as well as schools that have encountered ethical issues. The following examples will help to explain practical application of business inspired ethic models in management of schools.

1.5. Research aim and objectives

The aim of this research is to analyse how principles of ethical leadership and organizational culture, common in business management, can be applied to promote ethical behaviour in schools. The study will assess existing ethical frameworks used in schools, evaluate leadership practices, and propose business-inspired strategies to improve ethical standards within educational organizations.

Research objectives

  • To examine how schools implement ethical policies through leadership, governance, and organizational culture.
  • To assess the influence of leadership styles (e.g., transformational vs. transactional leadership) on ethical behaviour in schools.
  • To explore how business principles such as CSR, ethical codes of conduct, and performance management systems can be adapted for schools.
  • To recommend a business-inspired ethical framework for school management that promotes accountability, transparency, and integrity.

1.6. Research questions

Primary Research Question:

How can business principles of ethical leadership and organizational culture be applied to enhance ethical practices in schools?

Sub-questions:

  • What leadership practices have the greatest influence on fostering an ethical school environment?
  • How do schools currently implement ethical standards compared to businesses with strong CSR policies?
  • What ethical challenges in school management mirror issues in the business world, such as conflicts of interest, accountability, and transparency?
  • How can performance management systems from business models improve ethical compliance in schools?

1.7. Significance of the Study

This study is important because it raises an important agenda of ethical governance in schools which is central to the promotion of ethical standards, specifically concerning governance practices essential in creating positive school environments, promoting accountability and fairness in the management of school affairs. In addition to being learning institutions, schools are institutions where future behavioral standards of societies are nurtured. Inequitable treatment, favoritism, or lack of disclosure of information leads to corruption, which brings poor returns to stakeholder's investment and poor performance among students (Jameel, Hamdi, and Massoudi, 2021).

Hence, through examining how the principles of ethical leadership and organisational culture from business management could be translated in schools, this study adds to the definition of an effective ethical framework for schools. CSR, adhering to ethical standards, as well as principles of performance management, can be considered as business practices, which are helpful in increasing the level of organizational ethical standards among stakeholders. Applying these strategies to schools provide a novel way of handling ethical dilemmas. If you are Looking for English assignment help services you can hire best writers of Instant assignment help who will provide plagiarism and ai free content at best price.

Overall, the findings will be useful for policy makers, educators, and administrators so they can learn how to effectively address ethical behaviour, enhance governance and boost the positive school culture. In addition, the study aligns business management and education, thus, promoting inter-disciplinary learning as well as practice (Webster, and Litchka, 2020). Therefore, this research leads to the formation of ethical, transparent, and accountable educational institutions to meet their societies' needs.

1.8. Dissertation Structure

The dissertation is organized into the following chapters:

  • Introduction:This chapter gives a background of the research area, reasons for carrying out the research, aims and objectives, and research questions. The present document also describes the structure of the dissertation.
  • Literature Review:The second chapter is a review of literature on ethical leadership, organizational culture, and governance in school and business organisations. This also analyses the theoretical foundations of ethical theories in both domains of practice.
  • Methodology:This chapter explains research strategy used in the study, data collection techniques and method of analysis used in the study. Ethical implications and the limitations of the study are also presented.
  • Findings and Analysis: The fourth chapter summarizes the research and provides data from case studies as well as explanation of the applicability of business concepts in schools. This chapter analyses the results and relates them to the goals of the study and prior work in the field. It also points at implications on school management and business operations.
  • Conclusion and Recommendations: The last chapter is devoted to the conclusion, the identification of research limitations, and the guidelines on the application of the identified business-inspired ethical standards in educational facilities. It also mentions the direction for future research.

1.9. Summary 

Chapter 1 presents the research topic and necessitates for ethical governance in school and its contribution to the development of the society. It describes the area of the research, pointing out that existing practices on ethical behaviour in schools are not well supported because leadership and governance are inconsistent (Da'as, 2023). The chapter justifies the study by calling for the considerations of such business elements as CSR and ethical codes to tackle the challenges in question. It is after defining objectives and research questions, where this study is goes to: Leadership practices, organizational culture, business-inspired frameworks. In addition to providing an overview of the structure of the dissertation, this chapter lays down the structure for the following chapters.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Literature Review: An Introduction

The literature review looks at the theoretical and empirical literature on ethical leadership and organizational culture in relation to ethical climate in school organizations. It analyses the extant literature focusing on the regulatory and organisational structures, including contingency theories, and leadership types, including transformational and transactional leadership, to evaluate their impact on the ethical decision-making process. Furthermore, the review considers business concepts such as CSR, codes of ethics and performance management system, and their applicability in education. Through the integration of findings from education and business sectors of scholarly work, the review intends to lay down the premise for possible oversights and create a strong base for constructing a business-oriented ethical framework for schools.

2.2. Concept of Leadership 

Leadership is a complex concept that has been variously operationalised, and this is a function of the fact that it has many uses in different contexts. According to Northouse, (2020), leadership is the process of influencing others to accomplish organizational goals effectively and enthuse people for the task. Posing from this point of view, leadership entails not only the provision of direction to an organization but also the ability to motivate the labour force.

Ciulla, and Ciulla, (2020) have described leadership as a process by which an individual helps people to accomplish a common goal. This definition emphasises the social process of leadership accomplished in the co-operation between a leader and subordinates, and the correspondence of relevant interests.

Lee, et. al., (2020)defined transformational leadership as the process through which leaders and followers work together to raise the level of both their need to perform the extraordinary and morality. Burns defined that transformational leaders aim at building and maintaining ethical tone, creating new ideas, and developing the members.

Bhandari, (2023) believes in situational leadership and describe it as the ability of a leader to switch the types of leadership depending on the maturity of the group and the nature of the required task. This approach also stress the need for leaders to be adaptive to the ever changing environment. According to Ward, (2024) leadership is different from management; the former entails the process of leading change, pointing it in the right direction, getting the right people on board and encouraging them to overcome various forms of resistance. In this respect, Kotter is diametrically opposed to management which seeks stability and seeks to preserve the status quo.

2.3. Theories Related to Leadership

Leadership theories provide a valuable information on the subject of how leaders can affect people and organizations. Key theories include:

1. Transformational Leadership Theory: It also focuses on the leader's act of coaxing the followers into better performance and ethical behaviour (Northouse, 2025). These leaders concentrate on change and creativity and may modify the culture of an organization to capture the worth of values within ethical standards.

2. Transactional Leadership Theory: This approach centers on understanding of explicit interactions between leaders and followers and it works under the basis of rewards and sanctions (Lord, et. al., 2020). Transactional leaders on the other focus of performance, duties, and commitment to policies and standards.

3. Situational Leadership Theory: As this theory suggest, leadership practices may vary depending on the contingency and followers' development (Cherry, 2023). Managers use organizational work behaviours, from authoritative to empowering, according to the contingency model to address certain tasks and people.

4. Servant Leadership Theory: This theory is a practice-based theory and has the following central features: The leader as the primary figure in the system; The leader as the servant; Empathy; Ethical leadership; Follower-ship development (Kenton, 2024). Another advantage can be mentioned because of its focus on the people in providing leadership.

5. Distributed Leadership Theory: This theory includes all people of interest in organizational decision-making and encourages execution of the leadership roles by all people of interest (Ytterstad, and Olaisen, 2023).

Such theories taken together have brought out the variety of ways in which leadership impacts organizational performance and ethics.

2.4. Leadership Practices Affecting Ethical Climate in School

Ethical leadership has a crucial role to play in creating the right ethical climate within a school by defining acceptable behaviour, actions and principles exhibited within such a facility. Leadership does not only apply theories in policies and how governance is enacted but' is also responsible for promoting characteristics of ethical practices, responsibility, and integration of other people.

Transformational Leadership as defined by Purwanto, (2022) has a transformative impact on ethical environments. Higher role culture substance of ethical transformational leadership encourages groups to go beyond self-interest, which fosters ethical behaviour in a shared vision. In essence, such leaders build trust, cooperation, and innovation that makes culture sensitive to ethical standards.

Servant Leadership which has been defined by Leithwood, (2021) suggests that the leader is a servant to his subordinates. Thus, servant leaders act in the best interest of others maintaining fairness and respect of the school community. This practice enhances students and staff care and ethical practices by anticipating anyone's ill state of health.

Ethical Leadership creates awareness of ethical practices since ethical behaviour is exhibited by the leaders. According to Sahito, and Vaisanen, (2020), ethical leaders make use of exemplary personal conduct, clear communication of organisational ethical values, and deliver reasoned consequences for unethical behaviour. In the schools context, it promotes confidence among the parties like students, parents and other members of staff.

Distributed Leadership builds on the above ideas for increased ethical environments because it engages different people in various decisions. As pointed out by Astuti, Fitria, and Rohana, (2020), this approach gets rid of biases, and it is also comprehensive, such that all pertinent stakeholder opinions will be sought in case of ethical issues, which are likely to keep the environment common and fair.

Lastly, it is Values-Based Leadership whereby the aspect of mission and vision of the school, and other day-to-day operations are aligned with proper ethical values. Managers who make value decisions ensure that ethical principles become part of the culture in the institution.

In that respect, the indicated leadership practices would enable the school leaders to improve the accountability, equity, and moral integrity of the educational environment and support the ethical climate.

2.5. Comparison of Ethical Standards Implementation: Comparing between Schools and Businesses with CSR Policies

There is need to understand that ethical standards are practised differently by schools and businesses because they have different goals, relationships with stakeholders and organizational environments. Whereas schools are mainly responsible for moral and education propounding, business organizations strive to make profit along with maintaining social sensitive through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies.

According to Burgos, and Carnero, (2020), CSR entails being economical, legal, ethical and philanthropic. Incorporation of ethical practices in business relations, with special focus on issues to do with transparency, accountability and sustainability is an important consideration in organizations that have good CSR policies. They usually implement ethical codes of ethics, performance ethics, and ethics for stakeholders in order to observe the set ethics (Wigmore-Álvarez, Ruiz-Lozano, and Fernández-Fernández, 2020). For instance, Patagonia and Unilever companies stick to environmental protection and social justice as key elements of CSR.

On the other hand, found that schools instil ethical practices by; policies, code of ethics, governance policies meant to uphold fairness, respect and non-discriminatory policies to the learners (Alfirević, Potočan, and Nedelko, 2021). But they are less structured than CSR policies in businesses in most of the cases. Leadership practices and organisational culture are two ways through which schools ensure ethical values are practised by students and other stakeholders. Transformational and servant leadership styles that have been described by Setó-Pamies, and Papaoikonomou, (2020) are highly effective in reaping ethical culture in the schools for trust as well as moral growth.

The problem is that unlike businesses schools do not have a clearly outlined system like CSR or defined performance criteria for ethical conduct. On the other hand, Ugwuozor, (2020) stated that distributed leadership in school can positively impact on ethical governance since it allows cross sectional participation in decision making processes. At the same time, Dziubaniuk, and Nyholm, (2021) noted that the businesses have systematic and measurable approaches towards the implementation of ethics that is not easily seen in the institution.

First, schools can integrate business inspired systems, including ethical codes and performance systems, to provide a structured framework for the proceduralization of ethical structures. This can improve governance accountability and stakeholder trust in school since it is a hybrid approach.

Read More - SUCCESFUL LEADERSHIP

2.6. Leadership Styles and Emerging Ethical Standards in Schools

Various leadership approaches play a crucial role in determining the ethical integrity in school, the system interactions and conduct. Transformational and transactional leadership organizational behaviours are two different styles that affect ethical practices in distinct manners.

According to Friedland, and Jain, (2022) transformational leadership is a process of influencing followers to search for a higher level of performance, as well as a higher level of morality. Ethical leadership in schools is characterized by shared vision, voice and moral development since the transformational leaders install these principles in schools. Zhang, et. al., (2021) noted that transformational leadership increases ethical standards in that it fosters innovation, collaboration and value based decision making. This style can be particularly used in schools because it is in harmony with the aim of establishing ethical standards in schools, teachers, and learners.

However, Delgado, et. al., (2020), warns that with the transformational leadership, there appears the tendency in the leader's vision to compromise ethical standards if the vision is idealistic or unrealistic. This reliance may bias ethical enforcement and overshadow some of the accountability mechanisms so that the power of charisma trumps the inconsistency of ethical regimes.

However, according to Miotto, Blanco-González, and Díez-Martín, (2020), transactional leadership is based on organization structures, incentives and sanctions. This style ensures ethical culture by establishment of guidelines to be followed in the organization. Claver‐Cortés, et. al., (2020) point out that transactional leadership provides direction and encourages compliance with set rules of ethical performation.

Despite the efficiency of transactional leadership in ensuring the ethics of the behaviour of subordinates, critics consider this kind of leadership as not inspiring sufficient emotional and moral interest in the specifics of the ethic. McGrath, Flatley, and Pscheidt, (2023) says that this style may create a rigid organizational culture to the extent that ethics are practised out of compulsion. Instant Assignment Help provide best assignment service at best price from PHD writers with 24*7 Customer Support.

I2.7. Literature Gap

Despite the empirical literature on theories of leadership including the transformational, transactional, situational, servant and the distributed, there is limited information regarding how the leadership theories can be applied in the school settings to enhance ethical practices. Many of the previous studies, for example (van Diggele, et. al., 2020) have dealt largely with the corporate or organizational context, referring to performance and creativity. However, mild literature available on these leadership styles elaborates on how the above leadership styles can solve specific ethical dilemmas that prevail within learning institutions including inclusiveness, equity, and moral personalities.

In the same vein, CSR initiatives and policies have been a primary focus of research in the business world, but how they can be implemented in school setting is not well understood. There is also a dearth of research as to how schools might adopt both, transformational and transactional leadership combined for the establishment of a strong ethical culture. These gaps are to be filled in this study through the linking of business-inspired leadership practices to school-based ethical governance.

2.8. Literature Review Summary

This paper explores leadership for ethical practices in school for which the literature review section focuses on leadership theories and business organizations. Based on the definition given by Adams, and Velarde, (2021) transformational leadership is characterised by vision and moral influences which are strategic in the context of educational goals. Transactional leadership, on the other hand, guarantees conformity as a result of following the laid down polices as pointed out by Moral, et. al., (2020), situational leadership Karakose, Polat, and Papadakis, (2021) and servant leadership (Stefkovich, and Frick, 2021) also provided contingence for the reasoning of the paradoxical and empathetic approach to ethical problem-solving.

The review also considers distributed leadership (Bush, 2020) that equally allow multiple people to have a say on leadership decisions. Although these theories offer useful frameworks, the literature shows the lack of their implementation specific to schools. Furthermore, how such concepts like Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and ethical codes of conduct when implemented in education systems has not been well researched.

The review establishes the lack of congruency between business-inspired frames with educational leadership practices to foster the improvement of governance, accountability, and ethical standards in schools. Therefore, the aim of this study is to fill these gaps, with an intention of synthesising an ethical framework for school leadership drawn from both educational and business literature, which will enhance ethical and inclusiveness in school management.


CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1. Introduction

This chapter provides the details of the research strategy employed to establish the relationship between leadership and ethical standards in schools with reference to business practice. The research method underpinning this study is therefore secondary qualitative research, which involves the use of thematic analysis to make sense of data that has already been collected (Chong and Plonsky, 2024). The decision-making process of the selected approach, research philosophy, strategy, and research methods are expounded, with focus made to validity and reliability considerations.

3.2. Research Philosophy

The research approach of the study is interpretivism since it aims at exploring the various meanings and contexts of the social reality. This philosophy accords with the study objective of determining how leadership and culture affects ethical practice in schools. Interpretivism thereby allows for an analysis of analysing human actions and their values, particularly leadership activities and ethical management (Flick, 2022). Unlike positivism that aims at measuring and quantifying the events, interpretivism provides flexibility in capturing the issues related to implementation of business-inspired frameworks in school context, recognising the context, diversity, and stakeholders' perspectives of ethical practices.

3.3. Research Approach 

The study adopts a quantitative research design to allow analysis of the intricate link between leadership and ethics in schools. It is suitable for the current research because secondary research involves combining research findings to develop new conclusions. As the study is based on the quantitative data like case studies, articles the actual cases and scenarios which define and depict ethical issues are not omitted due to their quantitative nature (Lochmiller, 2021). The qualitative approach makes it easy to understand how different principles of business may be applied to education for example; CSR and ethical codes and the patterns and themes to be used in developing the business inspired ethical standards for schools.

 3.4. Research Strategy 

The research is an example of secondary data analysis method that shall use literature, case and report data relevant to leadership, ethics and organizational culture. It is cost-saving and less time-consuming, and enables the study to use valid sources from different fields. When it comes to understanding the patterns and themes in the data set, that has been gathered from educational and business settings, thematic analysis is applied for synthesing the findings (Pietilä et al., 2020). The use of secondary data analysis is justified because it offers an opportunity to access a vast pool of existing information, free from the problems of primary data gathering while the study is in a position to respond adequately to its research questions in a structured and comprehensive manner.

3.5. Research Choice 

Following the above research objectives, the study employs a mono-method qualitative choice where the research solely depends on the secondary qualitative data. This choice corresponds with the interpretivist paradigm and qualitative research paradigm because the focus is made on density of information rather than quantity of numbers. The mono-method guarantees that the research is systematic and consistent and uses the literature as well as case analysis to examine leadership and ethical management (Vanover, Mihas, and Saldaña, 2021). Thematic analysis becomes the key type of analysis since it actually allows for the identification of themes and patterns in the given materials. Due to focusing on the qualitative data, the study provides all the richness and contextual information needed to establish ethical frameworks for schools.

3.6. Time Horizon

The research adopts a cross sectional time horizon where data of the study is collected from different sources within a given time frame. It enables the study to identify the current trends, practices and formats of leadership styles and ethical governance in schools. Cross-sectional approach is advantageous since it has a relatively set time frame thus offering a contemporary view of the knowledge and thus more relevant (Walliman, 2021). While predetermined by time, it does not allow for longitudinal analyses of change over time and is acceptable for secondary research that consolidates the available info. Stemming from this approach, this study intends to offer timely and practical recommendations on how schools could promote ethical practices as guided by business related models.

3.7. Research Questions

1. In what ways does leadership practices affect ethical policies in schools?

  • Methods Selected: The secondary data extracted from journal articles, policies and cases regarding leadership practice in schools were analyzed using thematic analysis. They include the leadership patterns and affected ethical policy implementation.
  • Critique and Justification: Less resource-intensive and provides the opportunity to get a good overview of the existing state of knowledge. However, its limitations include the likelihood that an analyst will use the data from a certain point in time and thus the information may be out of date or may be prejudiced in some way (Silverman and Patterson, 2021).
  • Populations and Sampling: In this case, purposive sampling was adopted to identify the relevant studies on leadership and ethics in the educational institutions.
  • Validity and Reliability: Validity was attained by use of reliable, scholarly sources. To achieve reliability, coding and thematic analysis processes were standardised.

2. How does transformational and transactional leadership affect ethical practices in school?

  • Methods Selected:The information gathered from articles containing theories of transformational and transactional leadership was compared and contrasted in terms of implementation in the educational system.
  • Critique and Justification:Consequently, secondary data provides more theoretical and empirical information. But generalization of findings may be constrained by the use of existing studies especially in the given context (Guest, Namey, and Chen, 2020).
  • Populations and Sampling:The sources were identified in relation to the leadership styles and the ethical consideration related to the schools. Comparative studies were included to increase the richness of the investigation.
  • Validity and Reliability:Validity was secured when different sources were compared to establish the results. Procedures like coding fixation increased reliability systematically.

3. In what way and to what extent are business models such as CSR, code of ethics and performance management systems applicable for schools?

  • Methods Selected:The approach used in analysis of the literature was thematic analysis of CSR and ethical governance in business to understand how the principles could be adopted in educational settings.
  • Critique and Justification: Evaluating business practices makes their conclusions transportable but their applications in schools may call for issues that entail interpretative analysis (Busetto, Wick, and Gumbinger, 2020).
  • Populations and Sampling:The sources of data therefore included published case and literature on CSR activities and school governance to ensure a more comprehensive view.
  • Validity and Reliability:To ensure validity, the author was keen to use only valid studies. Inter-source reliability was maintained by applying the same method of thematic analysis to all sources.

4. What does business-inspired ethical framework for the management of school entail?

  • Methods Selected:Previous frameworks from both the business and educational sectors were integrated to conduct thematic analysis of components such as accountability and transparency.
  • Critique and Justification:While secondary data provides an opportunity to look at the frameworks at a wider perspective, the context in which businesses and schools operate differ and hence should be done with a lot of consideration (Coe et al., 2021).
  • Populations and Sampling:Ethical governance and leadership literature from both sectors were considered, and emphasis was placed on the application of the findings.
  • Validity and Reliability:A use of a credible sources and systematic approach helped in establishing validity and reliability of the study.

3.8. Validity and Reliability

Validity  

Validity refers to the extent of accuracy of the findings that are obtained at the end of a particular research. Validity was kept intact throughout this study by only using articles from refereed journals, policies, and cases. These sources were chosen to achieve the research, aims and objectives and to ensure that the data collected is suitable for a study of leadership styles and ethical practices in schools (Sürücü and Maslakci, 2020).

The interpretivism research philosophy also positively impacted validity by paying attention to context. While other researches considered leadership and ethical behaviour as cross contextual factors, the study focused on how these factors are related in education contexts. The observations from different sources enabled the researchers to make concrete conclusions and do not derive conclusions from some observations only. This enabled the creation of a triangulation of data to establish the credibility of the research.

Reliability  

Reliability therefore is consistency and replicability of research method and results. For reliability, the study used systematic thematic analysis with a coding procedure that involved pattern matching in the data. Every step of the analysis was recorded in detail to ensure that the research process was fully traceable to other researchers who would wish to repeat the process (Saharan et al., 2020).

Moreover, reliability was enhanced by the way data were selected and analysed through the study. The study was conducted based on the existing frameworks and methodologies to avoid biases in the study. In this manner, the research returns cohesive and reliable results that can be useful for real-life contexts similar to the studied schools, thereby increasing the value of the work for the discussion of leadership and ethics in the schools.

3.9. Data Selection and Collection 

Data collection for the study was done using secondary qualitative data sources such as: Peer reviewed articles, case studies, policies and organizational reports. Sources of data were selected according to the objectives of the study, regarding leadership, ethical decision making and organizational culture. To this end, only research articles that focused on ethical conduct in schools and business practices that are applicable to school settings were included in the study through purposive sampling (Gupta and Gupta, 2022).  

Some practical issues were emerging from such a wide range of literature, thereby provoking more rigorous analysis in order to determine which sources could be trusted and which materials were relevant in the given context. Furthermore, there were challenges of accessing some high-quality studies and reports available only behind paywalls; and the challenge of ensuring that the selected sources are current. These challenges were addressed in the study by giving priority to peer reviewed articles, reputed educational and business organization reports, and reports from the specified time period (Pandey and Pandey, 2021). This approach helped in the development of a sound data set that was as close as possible to the research questions and hence a good platform for the development of themes.

3.10. Data Analysis 

The study also used thematic analysis as the main approach to analysing the collected qualitative data. This approach entailed sorting out patterns across the dataset in order to extract patterns (themes) and make meaning out of them. The analysis process started with the process of getting acquainted—rereading the selected data several times. Then, first indices were created, which reflect important concepts and repeated subjects. These codes were then collapsed into more general themes which corresponded with the research questions, for example, transformational leadership and ethical conduct, or implementation of CSR in school (Mishra and Alok, 2022).  

Thematic analysis offered an effective approach to analyse data since it offered a rigorous structure of the data analysis process while at the same time being flexible. It helped the study to avoid making mere assumptions, which would have limited the investigation of leadership styles and organisational culture that define ethical practices. The method made it possible to achieve a comprehensive analysis of the results, which increased the credibility and richness of the conclusions made (Goldsmith, 2021).

3.11. Ethics and Bias 

Nonetheless, since the study relied on secondary data, issues of ethics were well taken into consideration. Any information used in this work was cited to ensure that the work is free from plagiarism. To reduce bias in the interpretation of the results, an attempt was made to use only credible, peer-reviewed publications. This approach eliminated issues of ethics in data collection since the study only used published and accessible data (Dubey and Kothari, 2022).

To reduce bias, the literature reviewed was sourced from different education contexts and authors' viewpoints were included. To avoid novelty driven analysis, thematic analysis was done systematically so that themes emerged from the data. At the same time, this approach helped to maintain an ethical and non-bias perspective of the discussed issue.

3.12. Limitations 

The use of secondary data only has some inherent limitations that cannot be avoided. The conclusions drawn in the study are contingent upon the type and extent of prior research which may not adequately address the research questions or accurately represent the present state of practice. Furthermore, being a desk-based research, it does not offer immediate, place-specific findings or reflect recent changes in school leadership and ethicality (Tarrant and Hughes, 2020).

Despite its rigour therematic analysis can be amound to being highly subjective since the analysis depends on the interpretation of the researcher. In addition, there is no primary data collected so there is no way to delve deeper into the details or to confirm the conclusions either. However, the work is not without limitations these include: All in all, this study has provided a framework that may be beneficial to future studies in this field.


CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

4.1. Introduction 

The research investigation to understand the principles of ethical leadership and organisational culture can be done through the detailed analysis of the secondary data and reports. The current results and discussion chapter outline the key findings collected from various secondary sources on the research variables. The thematic analysis present the results in systematic order for clear understanding of the key findings.

4.2. Thematic Table

Research Objective Thematic Codes Theme
To examine how schools implement ethical policies through leadership, governance, and organizational culture.
  1. Leadership styles
  2. Governance in schools
  3. Organisational culture

Implementation of ethical policies through leadership, governance, and organizational culture in schools

To assess the influence of leadership styles (e.g., transformational vs. transactional leadership) on ethical behavior in schools

1. Transformational leadership

2. Transactional leadership

3. Ethical policies in schools  

Influence of leadership styles (e.g., transformational vs. transactional leadership) on ethical behavior in schools

To explore how business principles such as CSR, ethical codes of conduct, and performance management systems can be adapted for schools

1. CSR

2. Ethical code of conduct

3. Performance management systems adopted in schools

CSR, ethical codes of conduct, and performance management systems business principles can be adapted for schools

To recommend a business-inspired ethical framework for school management that promotes accountability, transparency, and integrity

1. Business-inspired ethical framework for school management  

2. Promotion of transparency, accountability and integrity in schools

Business-inspired ethical framework for school management that promotes accountability, transparency, and integrity

4.3. Thematic Analysis 

4.3.1. Theme 1: Implementation ethical policies through leadership, governance, and organizational culture

The leadership and governance in the school education are important to develop effective organisational culture. It support in creating positive workplace culture that promote creativity and collaboration in the orgnisation. Several reports on the ethical principles and policies in the school management outlined that the leadership practices create major influence in the development of ethical behaviour in the schools. The implementation of ethical policies require strong leadership skills and employee collaboration. According to the report of Ugwu and Pansiri, (2022), several countries have developed strong organisational policies to support the leaderships and their governance. The research outlined that the South African educational department has implemented the leadership programs for their school management to motivate them for identifying effective leadership strategies for schools. The research found that the schools has strengthen their leadership qualities and management to create more effective workplace environment. It has supported in developing long term organisational sustainability in the schools. Similarly, it has also supported in improving the ethical principles and workplace culture for the leaders in the organisation. The authors found that there are several leadership qualities those were improved through using the effective leadership programs. The qualities of the individual leaders in the school were improved that has supported in increasing their capability and efficiency in the organisation.  

After analysing several qualitative studies, it is found that the ethical policies are successfully implemented in different educational organisations by following the suitable leadership and governance. In this order, the schools has developed the organisational culture with the support of effective leadership qualities. As per the study of Pendekos, (2023), the ethical leadership traits has supported the leaders in the schools to implement the organiastional rules and regulations more effectively. It has developed the sense of responsibility and respect for different job profiles. Similarly, the integrity and accountability of the leaders and team members in the schools were also improved by implementing the ethical policies in the organisational culture. The report of UNESCO, (2023), has also outlined that various leadership styles such as transformational and transactional were followed by the leaders in the educational institutions to create positive workplace environment. These leadership styles has motivated the organisations to implement the educational rights for the needed children. The fair organisational practices has been implemented through effective leadership qualities. This has been implemented by developing the strong relations between the schools leaders, children, and management. In this order, proper facilities and ethical principles were developed for the teams to strong collaboration. Overall, the detailed analysis outlined that the ethical policies for schools were implemented through effective leadership qualities and stakeholder collaboration. 

4.3.2. Theme 2: Influence of leadership styles (e.g., transformational vs. transactional leadership) on ethical behavior in schools

The leadership style of an individual reflect the mindset and strategic approach that they are expected to follow in different situations. It outline the perception of the leaders to handle any situation and manage the teams effectively. In this order, the leadership styles play a critical role in the organistional process. According to the authors Sumampong and Arnado, (2024), there are several leadership styles those create impact on the overall team performance based on their respective leadership traits. The literature review and secondary sources analysis outlined that the transformational leadership is one of the popular leadership style that has been followed by several leaders in the school education systems. It has supported the leaders to identify and use the strength of their team members by providing the various resources and opportunities. It is found that the transformational leadership has motivated the school leaders to take first initiatives in the team events. This has influenced the team members to build strong leadership qualities and contribute in the education process. Overall, the transformational leaders focus on growth mindset with the teams to develop effective ethical behaviour in the schools. The report of UNESCO (2024), also outlined that the school leaders and principles were found more active and innovative during their leadership journey while following the transformational leadership qualities. It has increased the collaborative culture within the organisations to reflect the ethical behaviour. The report found that the transformational leadership has motivated the school leaders towards strong relations. It has developed strong and open communication with the team members to create maximum output. While comparing the transformation leadership with the transactional leadership, the research found transformational leadership style more effective for the school leaders.

The report UNESCO (2024), outlined that transactional leadership has created pressure to the school team members. In this order, it may affect the overall ethical behaviour of the leaders and team members. Thus, the transformational leadership has strong influence to develop ethical behaviour in the educational institutions. The author Maheshwari, (2021) also found similar information on the influence of transformational and transactional leadership style in the schools. The transformational leadership influence the leaders to support employees for their roles and responsibilities. This has created positive influence on the employees and leaders. While, the leaders those have followed the transactional leadership were found more exhausted and in pressure due to lack of systematic approach and collaboration. It has created more pressure and negative impact on the performance of teachers and overall school management. The transformational leadership style was found more effective in order to maintain the ethical behaviour in the schools. Overall, the detailed analysis of secondary sources outlined that the transformational leadership style has positive influence on the school leaders. It is identified that different leadership styles has their influence on the leaders. While, the transformational leadership style was found more supportive in the school management. The transformational leadership style should be used in the schools to develop effective ethical behavior in the organisation. 

4.3.3. Theme 3: Business principles such as CSR, ethical codes of conduct, and performance management systems can be adapted for schools. 

 

Picture1

Modern business concepts such as CSR, ethical norms and codes of conduct and performance indicators can have a great influence on the procedural and ethical construct of schools. When applied to educational organisations these principles are in sync with the enhancement of such organisational practices but also with the foundational goals of promoting sustainable, fair and accountable organisational culture at school.

CSR can be applied in schools and it can include the school embracing the community, environmental conservation and giving student's responsibility towards society. Like any other organizations from the business fraternity, schools have categorized Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as an essential component that can be incorporated into teaching and learning environments in ways that involve students in constructive community development, environmental conservation plus incorporate cooperation with other businesses or related organizations to provide for the society. For instance, the schools could organize projects that help them minimise their environmental impacts: recycle, use energy-efficient solutions, disseminate information about the climate change, and the role of the company's actions at an early age (Khan, Mehmood, and Ali, 2024). Moreover, through participating students in projects, which focus on the needs of the community, schools inoculate values of compassion and citizenship into student, thus making them responsible, moral members in society.

Policy manuals and codes of ethics for schools help students, teachers, and parents act in a manner that is acceptable to each other, and in the best interest of the education community. In business, ethical codes are put in place in order to standardize the behaviour of its employees as well as the ways it treats the consumers. Likewise, schools can first issue behaviour codes that enable the students and staff of the school avoid discriminating fellow human beings. These would include no tolerance to bullying, equal treatments of the students no matter the color of their skin, ethnicity, or nationality and no tolerance to cheating of any kind. These codes should be both clearly communicated and regularly enforced, tested and updated as a culture and society changes. This would assist in developing an environment which is secure for learning akin to the environment that organizations establish for their personnel.

Performance management systems in schools can be modeled after business practices but tailored to an educational context, where the goal is to enhance student learning outcomes, staff development, and overall school effectiveness. In businesses, performance management involves setting clear objectives, measuring progress, and providing feedback to improve employee performance (Joseph, et al., 2024). Similarly, schools can set specific academic and behavioral goals for students, monitor their progress through assessments, and provide constructive feedback to support improvement. For staff, performance management can include regular evaluations, professional development opportunities, and goal-setting that encourages continuous learning and teaching innovation. Furthermore, just as businesses link performance to rewards and recognition, schools can celebrate achievements and create systems that motivate students and staff to strive for excellence.

By adapting these business principles, schools can create environments that not only deliver educational outcomes but also promote ethical behavior, social responsibility, and continuous growth—values that prepare students for both academic success and responsible citizenship.

4.3.4. Theme 4 business-inspired ethical framework for school management that promotes accountability, transparency, and integrity. 

 

Picture2

The image gives out the parts developers need to put together to establish an ethical backdrop for a business. These like ethical leadership, the ethical decision-making model, ethical values training and education, ethical certification and checking procedures are critical to the enhancement of organisational governance and accountability and organisational integrity.

In the context of a school management framework inspired by business ethics, we can adapt these principles to enhance school operations:

Ethical Leadership: Teachers are expected to come to school with good ethical standards such as integrity, professional, and other related ethical values just as business people dictate the ethical standards in the society. It also recreates a culture of integrity and uprightness in the school since the society condones corruption.

Ethical Decision-Making: School leaders can begin to model ethical decisions using a decisional matrix where components like equity, integrity, and non-discrimination of all members of school community are given a Carlson priority. This is in accordance with the business ethics of the institution with respect to decision making processes.

Training and Education: As companies take their employees through various awareness sessions on ethical qualities, so schools have the right to conduct awareness thats all aimed at ensuring series of ethical measures to be taken by staff and students.

Ethical Communication: Ethical culture in the school also requires clear communication on certain standards appropriately. This has to do with state of affairs where policies, expectations, decisions regarding ethical issues are explained and made understandable to students and staff.

Ethical Auditing and Monitoring: Similarly to organizations, schools can introduce systems for ethical compliance checking and create lists of areas of ethical compass weaknesses, which have to be worked on to meet ethical requirements.

Developing an Ethical Code: Students in our learning institutions today should be made aware of the school Ethics Code of Practice that outlines the right thing to do and the ramifications for wrong doing.

In this context, through the application of these principles, it is possible to construct an ethical system that reflects many principles of business activity management, orienting the schools to adequate decision-making and correct behavior. ​

Business inspired ethical theory of school governance can improve the standards of accountability, transparency, and integrity of the school management system to a large extent. It is in this light that guidelines as herein presented gives account on the ways in which key business ethics principles can be incorporated in schools to foster ethical practices in the school systems, as well as the students, staff and the entire school going public.

Responsibility is an important principle of business conduct that denotes that organizations are held to account for them activities. At school level, accountability can be enhanced through; Outline of roles and responsibilities of each person or group in the institution as well as specifically defined expectations from administrators, teachers, students and parents (Cajander, and Reiman, 2024). It is here that school management can make decisions regarding operations of the school, funding, budget, students' performance among other aspects of school management, more transparent to warrant public scrutiny. Accountability of a model inspired by business might in one form involve assessment, appraisals, and a complaints procedures. Besides, the framework may involve the school leaders in the process of making information-informed decisions and engaging the community like parents in refined decision-making forums. The students and other school personnel also feel that everyone to some extent is answerable to the understood rules and as a result, there is a sense of School fairness and trust.

4.4. Summary

There is evidence in business management that the values of ethical leadership and the culture of an organization play a huge role in the development of ethical practices in learning institutions. Ethical leadership speak of leaders who provide examples that depict the necessary measures of ethical, fairness, and transparency. Experts such as Principals, Departmental Heads/Co-ordinators in schools play a crucial role in personalizing these values in schools, and in the practice of ethical behaviour in and among both staff members, as well as students. Ethical behaviours and decisions performed by school leaders make it a culturally acceptable supreme standard for learners to also acknowledge ethical behaviours and actions (Sahraoui, and Laib, 2024).


CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1. Introduction 

The final chapter will be the conclusion and recommendation chapter which will draw conclusion and recommend based on the analysis of ethical leadership and organizational culture in schools. It will concern how business-inspired ethical principles can be incorporated to meet the difficulties that includes bias, lack of accountability and transparency in learning institutions (Claver‐Cortés et al., 2020). In addition, the implications of the study for educators, policymakers, and administrators will be presented in the chapter, followed by the limitations of the study. Last, it will present a framework for the improvement of ethical practices by developing the governance, leadership, and cultural models to support sustainable ethical practice in schools and to provide a foundation for future research.

5.2. General Conclusions 

The research question of this study was on the possibilities of enhancing ethical practices in schools by adopting ethical leadership supported by the principles of business. The observations made were the following: These findings have important implications for educational institutions.

Firstly, the leadership styles have a great impact on ethical standards in school. Organizational culture, which was identified as trust, collaboration, and innovation, was established to be promoted by transformational leadership which is key for ethical practices. On the other hand, transactional leadership which is good for compliance, many a time, were found to be missing on the motivational and relational aspects required for ethical growth of employees (Da'as, 2023). It was also important to learn values based leadership as well as servant leadership and differentiate between the two perspectives that underlined empathy, inclusion, and values of decision-making in schools.

Secondly, the research pointed out that it is possible to apply business concepts especially the concept of CSR, code of ethics as well as performance management systems in schools. These frameworks provide the more or less fixed frameworks of accountability, transparency, and stakeholder management. For instance, performance management systems that are specific to schools will improve the development of staff and students as well as encourage the culture of performance improvement. Thirdly, the study revealed that there were existing ethical issues within schools, and that there was no established system of ethical decision making and governance. From the business models, it is clear that schools can develop good mechanisms for handling conflicts, fairness, and stakeholder trust (Day, Sammons & Gorgen, 2020).

The consequences of such findings are significant. They claim that schools could enhance ethical governance by borrowing ideas that work in other fields, such as business management and other fields. Of the listed areas, destigmatization for educators and administrators is challenging because it requires a paradigm shift of leadership development programs, policy formulation, and public relations towards the creation of an accountable and honour based culture. These findings should be useful to policymakers in formulating policies that can help close the gap between business ethics and the management of education. In sum, the present study facilitative the construction of ethical, transparencies, and inclusively oriented education establishments, which enhances social advancement (Delgado et al., 2020).

5.3. Research Question Conclusions

1. What measures of ethical leadership and culture in schools can be derived from business principles?  

The study also showed that it is possible to apply most of the ethical leadership and principles that prevail in the business world including CSR, code of ethics, and performance management systems in schools. Thus this paper argues that the implementation of structured ethical structures is an ideal way for school to encourage the practice of accountability, transparency and stakeholder trust. For instance, CSR motivated projects like community related projects enhance responsibility among the students as well as the staff and they also encourage the aspects of ethical business (Dziubaniuk & Nyholm, 2021). When the ethical codes have been elaborated and brought up-to-date on a rather constant basis they can specify the appropriate behaviors and furnish the context for decision making. Performance management systems can be adjusted in order to establish specific goals for academic and administrative achievements. But the study described few practical cases of successful implementation in schools, and the author noted a lack of evidence-based frameworks for the educational context.

2. Which of the leadership practices are most effective in creating ethical school environment?  

The results highlighted the importance of practicing transformational leadership in order to develop ethical environment in school. Ethical climate is the overall perception of organisational culture regarding ethics and is determined by transformational leaders' ability to foster trust, co-ordinate common goals, and encourage originality in solving organisational dilemmas. Servant leadership was also identified as a helpful frameworks which entails on appreciativeness, listening, being considerate and acting in the best interest of the followers. The approach of decentralised decision-making, where all the participants are involved, was determined to eliminate prejudice and increase openness (Friedland & Jain, 2022). But while employing transactional leadership meant that the subjects could be subjected to consistent rules and demands and worked efficiently in instilling ethical behaviors or solving ethical issues, transactional leadership had less outcome in introducing ethical behaviors or in responding to moral questions. The authors identified a significant lacuna, pointing to the absence of systematic leadership training programs in schools, which incorporate these effective leadership styles and hence calling for paying more attention to ethical leadership.

3. In what ways are ethical standards currently being practiced in schools different from businesses that have effective CSR programs?

This research established that ethical standards are applied in schools in an uncoordinated and haphazard fashion unlike in businesses where most of them have set down CSR policies. Companies regularly use formal ethical standards and guidelines, assessment criteria and managerial frameworks for engaging stakeholders with a view to maintaining ethical standards. On the other hand, the schools mainly use the organizational informal structures and culture as a way of enforcing compliance (Hyseni Duraku & Hoxha, 2021). Even though schools are able to provide students with codes of conduct and rules and regulations within those codes are very clear, it must be noted that such rules and regulations are not always enhanced strictly and are hardly revised on a fixed basis. Organizations also focus on tangible results of ethical activities, for example, sustainability or social responsibility, which is not typical for learning organizations. The study revealed a major deficiency of the systematic use of measurable approaches to ethics in schools and the absence of structured approaches based on business models.

4. Which of the ethical problems in the management of the school are similar to the problems faced in business organization, for instance, conflict of interest, accountability and transparency?

Ethical issues in schools are related to business ethical issues such as: conflict of interest, lack of personal and organizational responsibility, and low organizational transparency. For example; bribery, corruption, embezzlement of funds, unfair interviews, and employment opportunities, are similar common practices in both areas. The study revealed that schools fail to have structures that address these challenges in a structured manner. While business organizations use independent auditors, stakeholders feedback and performance reviews, schools on the other hand, address such matters informally, thus arriving at diverse results (Jameel, Hamdi & Massoudi, 2021). The current paper's results indicate that implementing business-oriented solutions such as ethical audits, formal complaint systems, and clearer budgeting processes can have a highly positive impact on the accountability and credibility of school management. Nevertheless, the current research could identify only a few cases of schools that manage to adopt such practices, suggesting that there is a lack of institutional capacity and policy development.

5. In what ways can performance management system from business models enhance ethical compliance in schools?

The systems of performance management in businesses are aimed at the assessment of the behavior of employees as well as the outcomes of the organization. Accordingly, the study identified that these principles could be applied to schools to improve ethical compliance. For example, routine appraisals of teachers and other non-teaching employees in school may address ethical concerns even as the employees gain professional growth. Strategic planning tools, as applied to businesses, might assist schools in developing specific ethical and academic goals for students and employees (Kalkan et al., 2020). In addition, there might be organisational practice concerning positive values for ethical behaviour for instance, incentives, symbols, promotions etc, which might be used to encourage and sustain integrity. Nevertheless, the study pointed out the absence of studies on the actual implementation of such systems in schools, and called for pilot projects to examine their effectiveness in school environments.

What Was Not Found?

The authors of the study highlighted some limitations of the work, though it offered useful information. While there is a growing literature on business-inspired ethical frameworks, there is little research on how such frameworks have been applied in schools and little documented evidence of their application. Research on using multiple forms of leadership, such as transformational, transactional, and others in solving multifaceted ethical dilemmas in schools is limited (Karakose, Polat & Papadakis, 2021). Further, although the study pointed out the possibilities of using CSR principles in educational contexts, there is a lack of information regarding the possibilities of expansion and continuity of such practices. These gaps suggest the following research directions for future research to close the gap between the theory and practice and help schools benefit from business-inspired ethical practices.

5.4. Recommendations  

Based on the findings, the following recommendations are proposed to enhance ethical practices in schools:  

  • Adopt Business-Inspired Ethical Frameworks:There is a suggestion that schools should incorporate business practices as; Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), codes of ethics, and performance management systems. For instance, by establishing clearly coded ethical standards and ethic checkups such guidelines can be effective.  
  • Leadership Development Programs:Training programs in institutions should focus on transformational, servant and distributed leadership. It is for this reason that such programs can help prepare school leaders in the way they can promote an ethical culture, trust and manage conflict (Lee et al., 2020).  
  • Stakeholder Engagement:Teachers, parents as well as students must be engaged in ethical decision making processes that taking place in the Schools. Engaging governance models can enhance the level of transparency and increase people's confidence.  
  • Performance Management Systems:There is need for schools to adopt strategies that enable them to establish ethics and academics as well as track performance and reward the achievement. That is why, these systems are adjusted to the educational context to stress the outcomes of learning and staff (Leithwood, 2021).  
  • Integrate Ethical Education:Procedures for delivering ethics to students can help learners apply ethical principles into the respective college environment and learn to make ethical decisions that better the world.  

5.5. Errors and Limitations  

Several limitations were identified during this study:  

  • Reliance on Secondary Data:To some extent, the research was confined by the data of prior studies, thus preventing the collection of context-related information.  
  • Limited Practical Examples:Unfortunately, there is little evidence in the literature that demonstrates how business-inspired ethical frameworks have been successfully applied in schools (Lord et al., 2020).  
  • Contextual Variability:The findings may not generalise to other cultural settings and other types of educational establishments may thus affect the ability to implement the recommendations.  
  • Subjectivity in Analysis:The Thematic analysis, as systematic, can be influenced by the researcher's interpretation and thus bias.  

5.6. Recommendations for further study 

Future research should address the following areas:

  • Empirical Validation of Frameworks: Trial pilot studies to assess viability of greater use of business inspired ethical principles in schools. It remains to be conducted regularly and could investigate the process of implementation, the results, and possibilities of its expansion.
  • Hybrid Leadership Approaches: Research on how it is possible to use transformational, transactional, and distributed leadership approaches to solve multifaceted ethical issues in schools (Miller, 2023).
  • Cultural Adaptation: Investigate on how ethical governance models can be implemented in culture and systemic environment in education.
  • Longitudinal Studies: Review the effectiveness of ethical education and leadership development programs in maintaining or improving the learning climates of schools, and enhancing students' performance.

To this end, future research can fill theoretical and practical gaps to help schools implement effective ethical governance strategies that will foster the interests of all stakeholders.

REFERENCES

  • Adams, D. and Velarde, J.M., (2021) Leadership in a culturally diverse environment: perspectives from international school leaders in Malaysia. Asia Pacific Journal of Education41(2), pp.323-335.
  • Akanji, B., Mordi, C., Ituma, A., Adisa, T.A. and Ajonbadi, H., (2020) The influence of organisational culture on leadership style in higher education institutions. Personnel Review49(3), pp.709-732.
  • Alfirević, N., Potočan, V. and Nedelko, Z., (2021) Students' values, professional socialization and the mental gap of corporate social responsibility perceptions. PloS one16(12), p.e0261653.
  • Astuti, R.W., Fitria, H. and Rohana, R., (2020) The influence of leadership styles and work motivation on teacher's performance. Journal of Social Work and Science Education1(2), pp.105-114.
  • Atasoy, R., (2020) The Relationship Between School Principals' Leadership Styles, School Culture and Organizational Change. International Journal of Progressive Education16(5), pp.256-274.
  • Berkovich, I. and Eyal, O., (2021) Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and moral reasoning. Leadership and Policy in Schools20(2), pp.131-148.
  • Burgos, J. and Carnero, M.C., (2020) Assessment of social responsibility in education in secondary schools. Sustainability12(12), p.4849.
  • Busetto, L., Wick, W. and Gumbinger, C., (2020) How to use and assess qualitative research methods. Neurological Research and practice2(1), p.14.
  • Bush, T., (2020) Theories of educational leadership and management.
  • Cajander, N. and Reiman, A., (2024) Exploring Talent Management Practices and Corporate Social Responsibility in Finnish Companies. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, pp.1-23.
  • Chong, S.W. and Plonsky, L., (2024) A typology of secondary research in Applied Linguistics. Applied Linguistics Review15(4), pp.1569-1594.
  • Ciulla, J.B. and Ciulla, J.B., (2020) Ethics and effectiveness: The nature of good leadership. The search for ethics in leadership, business, and beyond, pp.3-32.
  • Claver‐Cortés, E., Marco‐Lajara, B., Úbeda‐García, M., García‐Lillo, F., Rienda‐García, L., Zaragoza‐Sáez, P.C., Andreu‐Guerrero, R., Manresa‐Marhuenda, E., Seva‐Larrosa, P., Ruiz‐Fernández, L. and Sánchez‐García, E., (2020) Students' perception of CSR and its influence on business performance. A multiple mediation analysis. Business Ethics: A European Review29(4), pp.722-736.
  • Coe, R., Waring, M., Hedges, L.V. and Ashley, L.D. eds., (2021) Research methods and methodologies in education. Sage.
  • Da'as, R.A., (2023) Between principals' and a teacher's perspective taking: the role of transformational and transactional leadership styles. International Journal of Leadership in Education26(4), pp.722-744.
  • Day, C., Sammons, P. and Gorgen, K., (2020) Successful School Leadership. Education development trust.
  • Delgado, C., Venkatesh, M., Castelo Branco, M. and Silva, T., (2020) Ethics, responsibility and sustainability orientation among economics and management masters' students. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education21(2), pp.181-199.
  • Dubey, U.K.B. and Kothari, D.P., (2022) Research methodology: Techniques and trends. Chapman and Hall/CRC.
  • Dziubaniuk, O. and Nyholm, M., (2021) Constructivist approach in teaching sustainability and business ethics: a case study. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education22(1), pp.177-197.
  • Flick, U., (2022) The SAGE handbook of qualitative research design.
  • Friedland, J. and Jain, T., (2022) Reframing the purpose of business education: Crowding-in a culture of moral self-awareness. Journal of Management Inquiry31(1), pp.15-29.
  • Goldsmith, L.J., (2021) Using Framework Analysis in Applied Qualitative Research. Qualitative
  • Guest, G., Namey, E. and Chen, M., (2020) A simple method to assess and report thematic saturation in qualitative research. PloS one15(5), p.e0232076.
  • Gupta, A. and Gupta, N., (2022) Research methodology. SBPD publications.
  • Hyseni Duraku, Z. and Hoxha, L., (2021) June. Impact of transformational and transactional attributes of school principal leadership on teachers' motivation for work. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 6, p. 659919). Frontiers Media SA.
  • Jameel, A.S., Hamdi, S.S. and Massoudi, A.H., (2021) The role of transformational and transactional leadership as predictors of organizational citizenship behavior in education system. Cihan University-Erbil Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences5(1), pp.56-62.
  • Joseph, C., Cahaya, F.R., Yusuf, S.N.S., Probohudono, A.N. and Kurniawati, E.M., (2024) Corporate ethical values disclosure: Evidence from Malaysian and Indonesian top companies. International Journal of Accounting & Information Management, 32(3), pp.369-389.
  • Kalkan, Ãœ., Altınay Aksal, F., Altınay Gazi, Z., Atasoy, R. and DaÄŸlı, G., (2020) The relationship between school administrators' leadership styles, school culture, and organizational image. Sage Open10(1), p.2158244020902081.
  • Karakose, T., Polat, H. and Papadakis, S., (2021) Examining teachers' perspectives on school principals' digital leadership roles and technology capabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainability13(23), p.13448.
  • Khan, A.N., Mehmood, K. and Ali, A., (2024) Maximizing CSR impact: Leveraging artificial intelligence and process optimization for sustainability performance management. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(5), pp.4849-4861.
  • Lee, A., Legood, A., Hughes, D., Tian, A.W., Newman, A. and Knight, C., (2020) Leadership, creativity and innovation: A meta-analytic review. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology29(1), pp.1-35.
  • Leithwood, K., (2021) A review of evidence about equitable school leadership. Education Sciences11(8), p.377.
  • Lochmiller, C.R., (2021) Conducting thematic analysis with qualitative data. The Qualitative Report26(6), pp.2029-2044.
  • Lord, R.G., Epitropaki, O., Foti, R.J. and Hansbrough, T.K., (2020) Implicit leadership theories, implicit followership theories, and dynamic processing of leadership information. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior7(1), pp.49-74.
  • Maheshwari, Greeni. (2021)  Influence of Teacher-Perceived Transformational and Transactional School Leadership on Teachers' Job Satisfaction and Performance: A Case of Vietnam. Leadership and Policy in Schools. 10.1080/15700763.2020.1866020.
  • Miller, P., (2023) Anti-racist school leadership: Making ‘race'count in leadership preparation and development. In Leading Socially Just Schools (pp. 9-23). Routledge.
  • Miotto, G., Blanco-González, A. and Díez-Martín, F., (2020) Top business schools legitimacy quest through the Sustainable Development Goals. Heliyon6(11).
  • Mishra, S.B. and Alok, S., (2022) Handbook of research methodology.
  • Moral, C., Higueras-Rodríguez, L., Martín-Romera, A., Valdivia, E.M. and Morales-Ocaña, A., (2020) Effective practices in leadership for social justice. Evolution of successful secondary school principalship in disadvantaged contexts. International Journal of Leadership in Education23(2), pp.107-130.
  • Northouse, P.G., (2020) Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice. Sage publications.
  • Northouse, P.G., (2025) Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
  • Pandey, P. and Pandey, M.M., (2021) Research methodology tools and techniques. Bridge Center.
  • Pendekos, Br. (2023) The significance of ethical leadership in educational administration: Analyzing its impact on organizational culture, stakeholders relationship and students outcomes. 10.13140/RG.2.2.30337.84323.
  • Pietilä, A.M., Nurmi, S.M., Halkoaho, A. and Kyngäs, H., (2020) Qualitative research: Ethical considerations. The application of content analysis in nursing science research, pp.49-69.
  • Purwanto, A., (2022) Elementary school teachers performance: how the role of transformational leadership, competency, and self-efficacy?. International Journal Of Social And Management Studies (IJOSMAS).
  • report26(6).
  • Saharan, V.A., Kulhari, H., Jadhav, H., Pooja, D., Banerjee, S. and Singh, A., (2020) Introduction to research methodology. In Principles of Research Methodology and Ethics in Pharmaceutical Sciences (pp. 1-46). CRC Press.
  • Sahito, Z. and Vaisanen, P., (2020) A literature review on teachers' job satisfaction in developing countries: Recommendations and solutions for the enhancement of the job. Review of Education8(1), pp.3-34.
  • Sahraoui, R. and Laib, A., (2024) Business Ethics Codes and CSR Practices: Analysis of Codes of Algerian Companies in the Oil and Gas Sector. In The Emerald Handbook of Ethical Finance and Corporate Social Responsibility (pp. 525-541). Emerald Publishing Limited.
  • Saleem, A., Aslam, S., Yin, H.B. and Rao, C., (2020) Principal leadership styles and teacher job performance: Viewpoint of middle management. Sustainability12(8), p.3390.
  • Setó-Pamies, D. and Papaoikonomou, E., (2020) Sustainable development goals: A powerful framework for embedding ethics, CSR, and sustainability in management education. Sustainability12(5), p.1762.
  • Silverman, R.M. and Patterson, K., (2021) Qualitative research methods for community development. Routledge.
  • Stefkovich, J.A. and Frick, W.C., (2021) Best interests of the student: Applying ethical constructs to legal cases in education. Routledge.
  • Sumampong, Rosalyn & Arnado, Alvic. (2024) The Influence Of Transformational Leadership On Teacher Motivation And Engagement: Proposed TELM Framework. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice. 30. 10.53555/kuey.v30i5.2009.
  • Sürücü, L. and Maslakci, A., (2020) Validity and reliability in quantitative research. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal8(3), pp.2694-2726.
  • Tarrant, A. and Hughes, K., (2020) Collective qualitative secondary analysis and data-sharing: Strategies, insights and challenges.
  • Ugwu, Chikezie Ignatius & Pansiri, Nkobi. (2022) Ethical leadership for School Governance: A case study of four selected Senior Secondary Schools in Gaborone. Vol 25 No 2 (2022): MOSENODI: International Journal of the Educational Studies. 76-102.
  • Ugwuozor, F.O., (2020) Students' perception of corporate social responsibility: analyzing the influence of gender, academic status, and exposure to business ethics education. Business Ethics: A European Review29(4), pp.737-747.
  • van Diggele, C., Burgess, A., Roberts, C. and Mellis, C., (2020) Leadership in healthcare education. BMC medical education20, pp.1-6.
  • Vanover, C., Mihas, P. and Saldaña, J. eds., (2021) Analyzing and interpreting qualitative research: After the interview. Sage Publications.
  • Walliman, N., (2021) Research methods: The basics. Routledge.
  • Webster, K. and Litchka, P., (2020) Planning for Effective School Leadership: Teachers' Perceptions of the Leadership Skills and Ethical Behaviors of School Principals. Educational Planning27(1), pp.31-47.
  • Wigmore-Álvarez, A., Ruiz-Lozano, M. and Fernández-Fernández, J.L., (2020) Management of University Social Responsibility in business schools. An exploratory study. The International Journal of Management Education18(2), p.100382.
  • Ytterstad, S. and Olaisen, J., (2023) An overview of perspectives of transformational leadership. Learning Transformational Leadership: A Pedagogical and Practical Perspective, pp.13-33.
  • Zhang, X., Zhou, S., Yu, Y., Cheng, Y., de Pablos, P.O. and Lytras, M.D., (2021) Improving students' attitudes about corporate social responsibility via ‘Apps': a perspective integrating elaboration likelihood model and social media capabilities. Studies in Higher Education46(8), pp.1603-1620.
Download Full Sample
Students have a lot of academic burdens these days that make them seek online assignment help from experts. Therefore, we have created an exclusive list of sample for almost every subject. Our highly qualified experts curated it for your assignment, essay, and dissertation help. So what are you waiting for? Explore the content written by our professionals and go ahead and seek essay writing services UK from our experts. The best part is they are available 24*7 to provide excellent assistance. So, what are you waiting for? Ask our experts, "Can you do my assignment for me, please?" You will see the magic happening in an instant.
Boost Grades & Leave Stress

Share Your Requirements Now for Customized Solutions.

Lowest Price

USD6.27

    FOR FIRST ORDER GET EXTRA 25% OFF

    Use Our Seasonal Offers!

    Get Up to 51% OFF

    Coupon Code

    INSTANT25
    Claim Now

    Our unique Features

    24/7 Customer Support

    100% Customer Satisfaction

    No Privacy Infringement

    Quick Services

    Subject Experts

    Innovative Documents

    100+ Qualified Writers

    For Best (Accounting) Assignment Help

    Maria Goodbooks
    1312 - Completed Orders
    Maria GoodbooksView Profile Hire Me
    Emma Nelson
    890 - Completed Orders
    Emma NelsonView Profile Hire Me
    Rosaline Evergreen
    2312 - Completed Orders
    Rosaline Evergreen View Profile Hire Me
    Mark James
    998 - Completed Orders
    Mark JamesView Profile Hire Me
    View All Writers
     
    IAH whatsapp

    Limited Time Offer

    Exclusive Library Membership + FREE Wallet Balance