Description
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the individual experiences of elementary principals’ in Southern San Diego County when making ethical decisions that are unique to schools near the United States/Mexico border. Ethical decision-making, in this case, is the term used to depict an incident that calls for a decision to be made when there is not a clear course of action. As part of this exploration, the researcher sought to understand how each principal approached a recent problem, comprehend the sense-making strategies principals engaged in throughout the problem, and explain how the problem was resolved viewed through the Multiple Ethical Paradigms. Using the Critical Incident Technique, five principals participated in semi-structured interviews four times over 4 consecutive weeks. These interviews were designed to capture the nature and frequency of problems principals in border school communities experience because of the school’s proximity to the border. In this study, the participants most frequently applied the ethic of care and the ethic of the profession when resolving problems of a critical nature. It was also learned that principals routinely use a combination of intuition and heuristic decision making practices when perhaps greater attention to a problem is warranted. Implications from this study suggest that educators need preparation and ongoing training in ethics and decision-making. Further, there is an unmet need for principals to process problems aloud with a trusted colleague.
