EXAMINATION OF ETHICAL/MORAL LEADERSHIP IN THE CONTEXT OF THE TEACHING PROFESSION

Abstract

Ethics is a branch of philosophy whose roots go back at least 2500 years, and in terms of the western world, it goes back to Plato (427-347 BC) and Aristotle (387-322 BC). The word "ethics" is derived from the word "ethos". The word "ethos" means habit, custom, tradition, custom, character (Pieper 1999). The Turkish Language Association defines the word "ethics" as; 1. Moral philosophy, 2. The branch of philosophy that analyzes concepts such as duty, obligation, responsibility and virtue, deals with moral judgments about rightness or wrongness, good or evil, and moral action ethics is defined as the branch that investigates the nature of ethics and tries to explain how a good life should be. According to Billington (1997), ethics is the theory of right and wrong behavior, while morality is its practice. As strong moral leaders, teachers must be able to face the failures they will experience. Through training, teachers' moral development can be achieved by recognizing higher levels of moral values and motivating them to move morally to the next level. These trainings can be included in teachers' in-service trainings. Through these trainings, teachers can be given the opportunity to discuss situations involving moral dilemmas they have experienced or may experience on their way to becoming ethical leaders. In order to spread moral values throughout the institution, teachers should identify and celebrate their students' moral behaviors, and explain to students who exhibit behaviors that are not in accordance with moral values the negative consequences of their behaviors.