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The researchers in the current study used survey methodology in an effort to investigate whether the inclusion of ethics courses in a principal preparation program made a difference in the development and evaluation of ethical school policies, programs, and practices. The participants who responded to the survey ( n = 206) included principals and assistant principals from Washington ( n = 45) and Texas ( n = 77), as well as current students, enrolled in a principal preparation program from Texas ( n = 84) who had some level of administration experience. Table 1 shows the characteristics by state of the participants in the study.
| Characteristics | Washington n(%) | Texas n(%) |
| Job Title | ||
| Principal | 26(13%) | 75(36%) |
| Assistant Principal | 19(9%) | 2(1%) |
| Graduate Student | 0(0%) | 84(41%) |
| Gender | ||
| Male | 32(16%) | 51(25%) |
| Female | 13(6%) | 110(53%) |
| Ethnicity | ||
| HispanicLatino | 0(0%) | 28(14%) |
| WhiteCaucasion | 38(18%) | 125(61%) |
| BlackAfrican American | 0(0%) | 7(3%) |
| Native HawaiianPacific Islander | 1(1%) | 0(0%) |
| Asian | 3(2%) | 1(1%) |
| 2 races | 3(2%) | 0(0%) |
| Ethics Course in Prep Program | ||
| Yes | 11(5%) | 65(32%) |
| No | 34(17%) | 96(47%) |
| (19,1) | (19,2) | (19,3) |
Note . Percentages are based upon total respondents.
Instrument. The survey was developed by the researchers and based upon various models of ethical decision-making and practices (Rebore, 2001; Shapiro&Gross, 2008). It consisted of a demographic section, 48 statements that participants would rate their level of agreement or disagreement on a five point Likert-scale (0=Neutral, 1= Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3= Agree, 4= Strongly Agree), and three open-ended questions. The initial survey instrument was piloted on 18 doctoral students in educational leadership who had experience as a school principal. Minimal changes were made to language and organization to clarify directions and/or items.
Fifteen of the items in the survey dealt with the principal’s development and evaluation of school policies, programs, and practices addressing issues related to social justice, equity, confidentiality, acceptance, and respect between students and faculty. Principal component analysis (PCA; Jackson, 1991) was used to assure that the fifteen items maintained the three constructs for analysis: Development and evaluation of ethical school polices , development and evaluation of ethical school programs , and development and evaluation of school practices . The average component loading for the policy questions was .92 and explained 85.94% of the variance. The average component loading for the program questions was .92 and explained 83.32% of the variance. Finally, the average component loading for the practices questions was .91 and explained 83.24 % of the variance.
Procedures. Participants were solicited for the current study through list serves, personal and school e-mail, and through electronic communication embedded in an online educational leadership course. Participants were provided a web address to the survey-hosting site (Surveymonkey.com), where instructions for the survey and estimated time of completion were included. Participants were not allowed to progress through the various sections of the survey unless all questions were answered. This restriction was intended to diminish the number of incomplete surveys.
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