Framing Personal Moral Code

• What factors have been dominant in framing your personal moral code?  

I believe my dominant factors framing my personal moral code come from my family. My mother was a stay at home mother and guided us through what was right or wrong with every opportunity being an opportunity to learn from. I grew up in a traditional nuclear Catholic family where this impacted my morals. I went to church regularly as a child so much of our moral code came from this weekly experiences.

I’ve learnt to trust my gut instinct when it comes to decision making. If something doesn’t feel right initially, then I don’t move forward until I’ve investigated this feeling further and why I initially was hesitant.

I believe that my schooling also had a great impact on my moral code as a child. Schools allow for opportunities to learn how to socialize, communicate and be a good moral citizen. My teachers have always had moral compasses that aligned with my parents further reinforcing the ideas I was brought up with at home.

My friends have also influenced my moral code however they have not always aligned. At times in my life, my friends have really tested my moral code and I had to decide whether to stick with my gut or waver. I now feel confident making decisions that are different than others if it means being true to myself, who I am and how I was raised even when they can be difficult choices at times. I have found that friendships that do not mostly align with my own moral code tend to not be strong, long lasting relationships.

• What factors have been dominant in framing your professional moral code?

My personal moral code greatly shapes my professional one as I use this to establish what is right, wrong and just in my professional setting. My professional and personal moral codes are heavily overlapping.

Other educational professionals and leaders that I respect support my framing of professional moral code. As a developing leader, I don’t always know the right course of action. I often have reflective or planning conversations to support my thinking with leaders and gain insight from others' perspectives.

I try to presume positive intent through all interactions and see things from others’ perspectives. This helps me to gain clarity in my own understanding of the situation and become more flexible. I try to have a high level of consciousness and really think about my thinking as I reflect on my actions and how I could continue to improve my decision making and implementation as I move forward.

• How have the codes above influenced your leadership practices?

I have a very strong sense of moral justice in the workplace and advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves. In one situation where a newly qualified teacher was not being supported by the leadership team and in general were not being kind towards her (partly due to political factors at play of her relationship with a member of staff higher in the school hierarchy), I felt the need to reach out and support her. I have been mentoring/ coaching her on classroom management and other classroom needs so she feels she has the support inside the class but also empowering her through conversations so that she feels heard and valued as a member of our school organisation.

Another situation I recall where I felt it was important to take a stand for the teacher staff was when I was in a meeting where the decision was being made to report online to parents at the end of every unit of inquiry (that’s six times a year plus conferences). I voiced my concern that staff had not been involved in the conversation and that we needed to ensure they were okay with the increase in workload and that they saw value in the process of more reporting. Due to this conversation, staff were consulted through a survey and further adaptations to the procedures and planning occurred to ensure staff were better supported through this change.