In previous articles for Headteacher Update I have written about how ethical education is as important as teaching children knowledge, skills and understanding of curriculum subjects.
I defined ethical education as “relating to standards of right and wrong, how we should act, obligations, duties and rights”, adding that “ethics is about values like fairness, respect and autonomy” (Mepham, 2022).
This is not, what some on the conservative right wing, might call liberal “wokery”, but rather it is about teaching children to think and behave morally and critically – essential qualities needed for citizenship and a future life in a democracy.
Of course, there are lots of dimensions to what this might look like, such as developing an ethical curriculum, promoting ethical behaviour of children and staff, school mission statements, ethical policies and systems for children, staff and governors, and the promotion of a moral climate and school culture.
The difficulty is that when we look around us at the conduct of some politicians, those on social media, those in many areas of public life, we do not always see good examples for us or, more to the point, our children to emulate!
In my 13 years as a headteacher, while I saw great examples of leaders and staff who exhibited exemplary moral conduct and professionalism, I have also come across staff, including headteachers, as well as advisors and inspectors who didn't think or behave this way at all.
The best way of developing an ethical school is, to borrow Jim Collins’ quote, “to get the right people on the bus” (Collins, 2001). It is the recruitment of staff who can teach, model, and exemplify ethical concerns that is so important.
My headship experience taught me that newly appointed teachers, who had the right mindset and motivation, could develop into excellent classroom practitioners very quickly by developing their knowledge and experience. However, it was more difficult to develop qualities like empathy, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and moral conscience if they were not present from the beginning.
The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham is at the forefront of promoting moral values in schools. It provides training and support for schools and is at the cutting edge of research in this area. I have used resources from the centre, to suggest some moral dilemmas that can be applied to, and used in, interviews for teachers and senior leaders, including headteachers.
Why dilemmas?
Such dilemmas can indicate the quality of a teacher’s thinking and reasoning, the values they hold and their character traits, their ability to problem-solve and empathise with others.
Responses to these dilemmas can tell us how these teachers might solve these issues, the quality of their communication, and what is important to them as well as their experience of everyday school life.
Interviewees would be asked to explain what they think the dilemma is and what course of action they would take. What might the implications of their decision be and the benefits to themselves and others. Is their chosen course of action realistic?
Below, I outline five dilemmas that are derived from the Jubilee Centre resources, followed by two of my own.
Dilemma 1: The Snowy Afternoon
You are teaching your year 1 class on a winter afternoon. There are three children in the class who have recently arrived in the UK: Halima from Somalia, Joseph from Zimbabwe, and Amudha from Sri Lanka. These three children have been quiet and withdrawn in class, and you have been trying your best to engage them and encourage their interaction with their peers. Your mentor has encouraged you to be flexible in your lesson plans. Snow begins to fall outside. All the children are excited, but particularly Halima, Joseph, and Amudha, who have never seen snow before. Amudha asks: “Can we please go outside and touch it?”
Dilemma 2: Parents’ evening
You are an early career teacher at your first parents' evening and are speaking to Emma's parents. They are concerned that Emma is not doing as well at school as she used to and think the reason could be that another girl Emma has told them about, Jade, is constantly disrupting the class. Unknown to them, Jade has a statement of SEN, but her learning support assistant is on maternity leave and has not been replaced. Although you have sought support from the SENCO, you have largely been left to struggle along as best you can with Jade's challenging behaviour.
Dilemma 3: A sensitive issue
You are teaching a PSHE session with year 6 and are responding to a question about the “war on terror”. You emphasise that Islamist terrorists are a tiny minority and that most Muslims condemn violence. The class discuss the topic respectfully and you feel that a potentially sensitive session has gone well. Later in the playground, you overhear a student who attended the session saying to another that Muslims are “a bunch of terrorists”.
Dilemma 4: The offensive remark overheard
You overhear a conversation between two students. The students are making jokes among themselves. One student is white, one student is black, and they are making jokes about a friend that relates to the colour of their skin.
Dilemma 5: Staffroom chat
You regularly hear an experienced member of staff in your school complain about a class you both teach. You know this can be a frustrating class because their behaviour is challenging. This teacher comments that they do not bother to plan lessons properly for this class because the students “haven't got the brains to notice”. The teacher also comments that they see no point in marking their work either because it is “worthless”.
Two further dilemmas
The five dilemmas above are useful because they relate to everyday problems of school life that are commonly experienced by staff.
For prospective headteachers and deputy headteachers, I have come up with two of my own – from very many that I experienced myself in the course my career.
The safeguarding dilemma
You have decided to exclude a child for a day due to aggressive behaviour towards another student. The child, who comes from a strict Nigerien family, pleads with you not to send him home as his dad will beat him. What are the principles at stake here?
The priority dilemma
You are worried about your year 6 class. SATs are not far away, and the class needs more support with English and maths. Predictions are significantly below expected standards and an Ofsted visit is imminent. You are also struggling to meet the needs of a vulnerable year 4 child who has no Education, Health, and Care Plan and who is causing frequent violent disruption to both staff and children. Do you spend your limited pot of money on boosting the year 6 children or on additional support for the child at risk of exclusion? What are the principles at stake here?
Final thought
The inclusion of such dilemmas in interviews can convey important messages about both the candidates’ ethical values and their ability to problem-solve everyday issues.
Such dilemmas can also be used as part of staff professional development and training. In particular they make for good, provocative discussion around exploring or renewing a schools’ vision and values.
- Jim Mepham is now retired after being a primary school headteacher for more than 12 years. He has worked in education for more than 30 years. He is now a freelance consultant. Read his previous articles for Headteacher Update via https://bit.ly/htu-mepham
Further information & resources
- Collins: Good to Great, HarperBusiness, 2001. For discussion of the specific quote, see the article Leaders of great companies ask: First who, then what? (Kinesis, 2015): https://bit.ly/42LBiH8
- Jubilee Centre of Virtues: Character in Teaching: Ethical dilemmas: https://bit.ly/3JmfCub
- Mepham: A culture of ethical leadership: Five approaches, Headteacher Update, 2022: https://bit.ly/3OMyTpl