MORAL DEVELOPMENT
22.2.1 Is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no reasonable man can doubt it?
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
2.2.2 Stage One: Moral Introduction
In 2004, the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) issued a call for reden-ing the knowledge base of the profession (Creighton, MacNeil, Busch, & Waxman, 2005). NCPEA scholars responded to this call by discussing the knowledge base's role in guiding professional development (Berry, 2005); creating internships (Hite & Matthews, 2005), eecting change (McDonald & Kilgore, 2006); conduct-ing action research (Alford & Ballenger, 2006); inspirconduct-ing school reform (Tripses, Philhower, Halverson, Noe,
& Morford, 2005); and developing school climate and school improvement (Lindahl, 2006). The common theme among these discussions is the use of knowledge to create socially just school leaders. In spite of the signicant impact of this discourse, no conversations have focused on the moral implications of the doctoral dissertation of educational administration.
In 1651, the dissertation was described as being a written treatment for a particular subject (Sternberg, 1981). Since that time, researchers (Holbrook, 2002; Isaac, Quinlan, & Walker, 1992; Locke, Spirduso, &
Silverman, 1999; Sternberg, 1981) have expanded the denition to indicate that the dissertation should: (a) demonstrate mastery of subject; (b) present original and independent work; (c) highlight various research techniques; (d) show potential for publication, and (c) contribute unique and new information to a chosen eld of study. After reviewing these and similar themes, I believe that the doctoral dissertation of educational administration is one of the most crucial knowledge based experiences of our eld. The main reason is that most recipients of this dissertation are public school leaders. Sergiovanni (1992) indicated that public school leaders are required to use their knowledge, skills, and dispositions to aect change in schools and their surrounding communities. Drawing upon these implications for social justice, I write this paper to discuss the moral implications of the dissertation experience for our eld.
I have outlined this chapter in three phases. I use the rst phase to propose the moral foundation of the doctoral dissertation of educational administration. I use the second phase to explain the possible reasons for the lack of discussion about the moral implications of the doctoral dissertation of educational administration.
I use the third phase to provide the profession with a plan for connecting the doctoral dissertation of educational administration to the theme of morality. These phases are anchored by my previous research on the doctoral dissertation of educational administration, professors' and students' perceptions of this scholarly work, and related literature about the relationship between knowledge and morals. In addition, these phases are also designed to about the dissertation's moral relevance to our eld.
2.2.2.1 Phase IMoral RelevanceStage Two: A Moral Foundation
This position paper highlights the doctoral dissertation of educational administration in the context of the relationship between knowledge and moral leadership. The theoretical framework is Kohlberg's (1973) theory of moral development. Kohlberg theorized that we progress through three phases and six stages in life. As children, we encounter the Preconventional Phase of moral development. This phase consists of two stages.
The rst stage is obedience and punishment. During this stage, our behaviors are greatly inuenced by authoritative gures. During the second stage, we began to display attitudes of selshness to protect our own best interests.
2This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m14581/1.1/>.
After completing this stage, we enter the Conventional Phase of moral development. This phase consists of the third and fourth stages of development. During the third stage, we begin to conform to society's expectations for appropriate behavior. We purposefully display behavior that pleases other people. During the fourth stage, we develop a clear understanding of the laws and duties of society.
Kohlberg (1973) stated that during the Postconventional Phase and stages of moral development, we are adults who begin to serve others. We also began to reect on our contributions to society. Kohlberg argued that most adults never reach these stages. This inability is due to the fact that as children, they failed to grasp or were not exposed to the moral implications of life experiences. As a result, Kohlberg (1973) posited that adults must model moral judgment for children. He modeled this belief by presenting morals based vignettes to young people.
2.2.2.2 Phase IIThe Moral DilemmaStage Three: Moral Concussions
In my opinion, Kohlberg's (1973) stages of moral development are related to the doctoral dissertation of educational administration. In eect, they both take people through sequential stages of cognitive develop-ment. Kohlberg, however, does not specify that a specic knowledge guides us through his stages of moral development. Instead, he believed that reection on the morality of knowledge helps us to advance through the stages. Kohlberg (1973) believed that when encountering views that conict with our thoughts, we reorganize our thinking to include new views. This reorganization process allows us to proceed to higher stages of moral thinking.
I agree with Kohlberg's (1973) assessment of the relationship between moral development and social justice. With regard to the doctoral dissertation, I disagree with his views on the signicance of an external knowledge base. One reason is that knowledge can bridge the gap between moral and social justice leadership.
The second reason is the dissertation requires students to use a previous established knowledge base to reconstitute their thinking about a particular subject (Holbrook, 2002).
Bertrand Russell (1959) indicated that knowledge and morals are two inseparable entities. According to him, knowledge facilitates morality by building the intelligence to:
• Engage in noble acts of selessness;
• Place others before self;
• Generate knowledge that can be applied to the world;
• Adopt new social moral perspectives of others and society;
• Find and report the truth to eect change; and
• Assume various roles of servant hood.
In other words, Russell (1959) believed that knowledge creates communities of moral leadership. Sergiovanni (1992) indicated that school leaders are models of moral leadership. He morally reasoned that they are required to use and project knowledge in a manner that creates a climate of ethics in schools and communities.
His reasoning supports Russell's (1959) belief in putting knowledge into action to improve society. Russell also claimed that society gains moral benets from disseminators of shared knowledge. In my opinion, the doctoral dissertation of educational administration is a knowledge based work awarded to school leaders.
Evidence to this eect can be seen in how students gather research based opinions of other scholars to present new knowledge about a particular eld. Drawing from Kohlberg's (1973) theory, I believe that our doctoral graduates should use this knowledge base to treat society. This step could develop their sense of moral development as they acquire educational experiences.
However, some professors and doctoral students of educational administration have informed me that they do not share this belief. Of course, they believe that the dissertation is built upon knowledge. But the professors indicated that colleges and university award doctoral dissertations to make money and award
students with the highest educational achievement. The students have indicated that the doctoral degree is a symbol of higher pay and professional prestige. Listed below is a vignette that reects their opinions and my experiences with and observations of numerous doctoral students.
Are You Doctoral Student A?
Doctoral Student A is a doctoral student at University B. She is also the Director of Student Development for Social Justice School District. Listed below is a description of how she completed her dissertation.
Doctoral Student A's Stages of Dissertation Development
Stage One: Self Centered Anxiety
Corresponding Kohlbergian StagesStages One and Two
Doctoral Student A is anxious to assemble a dissertation committee that will approve of her dissertation proposal. Once the committee approves of the proposal, she quickly learns to obey their wishes for writing the remaining chapters of the dissertation.
Table 2.1
Stage Two: Respond and Obey Stage
Corresponding Kohlbergian StagesStages Three and Four
During this stage, Doctoral Student A exhausts every available resource and eort to complete the dis-sertation. Her reection on chapters is more closely aligned to committee suggestions for revisions than moral exploration of the theories found in the literature review. In addition, Doctoral Student A knows that the committee will determine if she reaches graduation or remains ABD (All But Dissertation).
Table 2.2
Stage Three: Social Suppression
Corresponding Kohlbergian StagesStages Five and Six
Doctoral Student A defends her dissertation and earns the doctoral degree in educational administra-tion.She knows that this accomplishment can raise her nancial and social standing in society. But she seldom incorporates the scholarly work in her platform for educational leadership. Instead, she imme-diately provides the director of personnel with proof of earning her doctoral degree. After receiving a
$20,000 raise, Doctoral Student A lowers her dissertation into a time capsule that consists of other doctoral papers.
Table 2.3
2.2.3 The gaps between the stages highlight the lack of reection on the moral and socially just signicance of the doctoral dissertation of educational admin-istration. They also oer an explanation of why some professors and doctoral students of educational administration do not attach moral thinking and ac-tion to me the dissertaac-tion experience. Some professors have conrmed this belief with comments such as With all that money that comes from getting the doctoral degree in our eld, why should students even be concerned about using their dissertations after graduation? to Most doctoral programs of educational administration are cash cows that graze upon the fees for dissertation and other coursework expenses.
2.2.3.1 Stage Four: Andragogy of the Suppressed
After engaging in verbal discussions about the doctoral dissertation of educational administration, I con-ducted a qualitative study on the postdoctoral dissertation uses of 118 doctoral graduates from our eld.
Of this population, there were 57 (48%) graduates with doctor of Education degrees (EdD) in educational administration. Sixty-One (52%) graduates held doctor of philosophy (PhD) degrees in educational admin-istration. The graduates completed a questionnaire that measured their use of the dissertation for socially just purposes.
The instrument consisted of the following questions:
1. Why did you choose your dissertation topic?
2. Describe the rationale and just and democratic components of your dissertation.
3. How did your educational administration program inform you of the ethical and democratic signicance of your dissertation?
4. How did your educational administration program's professors encourage you to use your dissertation to inspire a just and democratic society?
5. Give an example of how you used the dissertation to inspire a just and democratic society.
6. After participating in this study, how will you use your dissertation to inspire a just and democratic society?
These questions were designed to build a theory about doctoral graduates' interpretations and uses of their dissertations for socially just reasons. In addition, the questions were designed to focus the participants' attention to the possible need to use their work to promote justice and democracy in the profession and communities. Listed below are representative samples of the responses to these questions.
1. Why did you choose your dissertation topic?
The PhD graduates and EdD graduates indicated their dissertation studies emanated from the curiosity to examine a particular area of interest. Their inquiries eventually lead to exploring the just and democratic implications of the concept and surrounding issues.
Representative PhD graduate responses were:
It was a subject I knew little about. I felt that vocational education had been treated poorly by most community college administrators, even though funds make vocational education the `cash cow' of community colleges. I looked on it as an opportunity to explore a subject area I wasn't familiar with.
I teach a diverse population and we have a large percentage of students in that diverse population. I wanted to see how culture inuenced their decision to enter postsecondary education.
A representative EdD graduate response was:
I was interested in the home schooling trend and its potential impact. I was also interested in adding to an area that hasn't been explored a great deal.
I wanted to extend the students' and parents' understanding of how technology could connect homes and schools. I honestly felt that I could achieve this goal by conducting research to validate technology.
2. Describe the just and democratic signicance of your dissertation.
A majority of the PhD graduates indicated that the advancement of understanding educational leadership was the just and democratic signicance of their dissertations.
A majority of the EdD graduates indicated that reection and service was the just and democratic signicance of their dissertations.
For example, one PhD graduate stated:
I hoped by doing a quantitative and qualitative study, I could prove that leadership also entailed com-prehending how culture inuenced Hispanic students to the decision of this earn a postsecondary degree. I used a survey and an interview process, analyzed both and correlated them for information.
Another PhD graduate stated:
I wanted to provide my school district with the statistical evidence to prove that we should consider the option of creating year-round schooling.
An EdD graduate stated:
My rationale for this dissertation is that students who spend two years in an early intervention program should perform as well as students who were not in the program because the aim of the program was to get students on track for their grade level and then to exit the program. Students who were being compared on the Criterion-Reference Competency Test in reading and mathematics performed signicantly below their regular education students even when they had been in the early intervention program for two years. Thus, it seems only right to rectify this unjust situation.
As another example, consider this response from an EdD graduate:
I just kept thinking about how I needed to really make the case for removing so many of our students from special education classrooms. The reason is that many of them were undeservingly placed in these classrooms. I hope that my investigation would reveal this injustice that plagued my school district.
3. How did your educational administration program inform you of the ethical and democratic signicance of your dissertation?
The PhD graduates indicated that the textbooks and coursework helped them to realize the ethical and democratic signicance of writing their dissertations. The EdD graduates indicated that by interacting with their peers, they developed an understanding of how their dissertation subjects relate to the promotion of a just and democratic society.
A sample PhD graduate response was:
I believe that the program courses taken at my university allowed me an opportunity to take a look at the social and community implications of the impact of student learning in the primary grades.
Another example was:
I believe that my textbooks helped me to realize the signicance of possibly extending my dissertation beyond graduation. I mean that everytime I reread certain chapter, I just gained a new perspective of how to use my vehicle to focus my study on the needs of my school and community.
A sample EdD graduate response was:
During group discussions, my cohort members and I helped each other a great deal to identify some of the ethical implications of our dissertation topics.
Another EdD graduate stated:
We often talked to each other about our dissertation topics. These discussions really helped me to realize that my dissertation could be used to think the thought processes of other people.
4. How did your educational administration program's professors encourage you to apply your disserta-tions towards promoting a just and democratic society?
Majority of the PhD and EdD graduates stated that their professors didn't encourage them to use their dissertations to promote a just and democratic society. A small sample of both groups was only verbally encouraged to use their dissertations to create a just and democratic society. Of this population, only the PhD graduates indicated that they were encouraged to write articles about their dissertations. Representative responses from the majority of the PhD graduates were:
Didn't.
They Never Did.
Not sure we talked about it in that particular aspect.
They haven't.
A representative response from majority of the EdD graduates was:
After I defended my dissertation, my professors basically told me that no body is going to read that long thing. So up until seeing this survey, I haven't really worried about looking at my dissertation.
A representative response from both of the small percentage of PhD graduates was:
The professors were supportive in this endeavor and informed me of multiple avenues to develop my dissertation topic. My chair was especially helpful.
A representative response from the smaller percentage of EdD graduates was:
My professors gave me plenty of encouragement to taking a look at using my dissertation to further my research if I so desire. They all indicated that that I should write a few article about my dissertation
5. Give an example of how you used your dissertation to promote justice and democracy in your eld or other elds of expertise.
The PhD graduates and EdD graduates indicated that prior to completing this survey they did not realize that their dissertations could inspire a just and democratic society.
For example, one PhD graduate stated:
I am currently writing an article about the dialogic process and the outcomes from utilizing Paideia Seminars to initiate a professional learning community. After answering this survey, I have been inspired to look at the data through a dierent lens and possibly write an article about how my study and the seminar topics reected a commitment to social justice.
Another PhD graduate stated:
This survey helped me to realize that year-round schooling really does have So What ramications for the communities that surround my school district. That's why I am planning to conduct community workshops on my dissertation.
An EdD graduate stated:
Until completing this survey, I never even realized that my dissertation on home schooling had any implications for promoting justice and democracy in communities. But I know realize that my dissertation empower the community. Therefore, I will use my dissertation to erase the stereotypes about home schooling.
I can't lie-I never really thought about it until reviewing this survey. After completing this survey, I now realize that I not have a moral obligation to use my study to add new thoughts and ideas to my school.
6. After participating in this study, how will you use your dissertation to promote a just and democratic society?
One-half of the PhD graduates concluded that they would promote justice and democracy by advancing knowledge and theories. One-half of the EdD graduates indicated that they would promote justice and democracy by applying a collaborative approach to addressing educational inequities. The other half of the PhD graduates and EdD graduates indicated that they were either unaware of or disinterested in the idea of using the dissertation to inspire a just and democratic society.
A sample PhD graduate response was:
After completing this questionnaire, I will use my dissertation to develop a theoretical framework on how to understand student learning and modalities. I will then become one of the leading authorities in the eld of teaching and learning.
A sample EdD graduate response was:
This study has helped me to see that I can use my dissertation to inspire a just and democratic society. I believe that improving education requires everyone's input which includes nding ways to support students in an environment conducive to learning and achieving academic success in an organized, structured curriculum that makes learning authentic.
Sample responses from the other PhD graduates and EdD graduates were:
Sample responses from the other PhD graduates and EdD graduates were: