{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/125225"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/125225","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Ethical Leadership in the Age of Accountability: Principals' Perceptions of Ethical School Accountability","abstract":"This dissertation explored the intersection of ethical leadership theories and the economic neoliberal underpinnings of school accountability processes through the lens of middle school principals in Virginia. A synthesis of Shapiro and Stefkovich's ethics of the profession framework was applied to evaluate the history of accountability legislation in terms of ethical decision making. A comprehensive literature review of school accountability and state assessment was synthesized into a novel framework, the Critical Associative Factors of Ethical Accountability (CAFEA), which served as the analytical foundation for the study. Qualitative research was conducted with a diverse array of middle school principals across Virginia that examined principals' perceptions of ethical school accountability using a coding system grounded in the CAFEA framework. Data analysis was conducted using a combination of a priori coding, second cycle coding, and theming the data to identify common themes and patterns. The findings reveal the ethical values of principals, the conceptualization of their role as ethical administrators in accountability, and a pattern in their perception based on their school's socio-economic status (SES). An argument is presented in this study for the integration of four key ethical components (context, veracity, clarity, and empowerment) as essential elements of a student-centered school accountability model. By prioritizing these components, policymakers can demonstrate ethical leadership that places students' well-being at the forefront of educational policy and practice.","abstract_html":"This dissertation explored the intersection of ethical leadership theories and the economic neoliberal underpinnings of school accountability processes through the lens of middle school principals in Virginia. A synthesis of Shapiro and Stefkovich's ethics of the profession framework was applied to evaluate the history of accountability legislation in terms of ethical decision making. A comprehensive literature review of school accountability and state assessment was synthesized into a novel framework, the Critical Associative Factors of Ethical Accountability (CAFEA), which served as the analytical foundation for the study. Qualitative research was conducted with a diverse array of middle school principals across Virginia that examined principals' perceptions of ethical school accountability using a coding system grounded in the CAFEA framework. Data analysis was conducted using a combination of a priori coding, second cycle coding, and theming the data to identify common themes and patterns. The findings reveal the ethical values of principals, the conceptualization of their role as ethical administrators in accountability, and a pattern in their perception based on their school's socio-economic status (SES). An argument is presented in this study for the integration of four key ethical components (context, veracity, clarity, and empowerment) as essential elements of a student-centered school accountability model. By prioritizing these components, policymakers can demonstrate ethical leadership that places students' well-being at the forefront of educational policy and practice.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Faaborg, Ashley Hart"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Education","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership and Policy Studies","degree_department":"Educational Leadership and Policy Studies","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Lowery, Charles L."],"committee_members":["Johnson, Marcus Lee","Elgart, Mark","Mullen, Carol Ann","Brinkmann, Jodie Lynn"],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-04-22","date_published":"2025-04-22","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:46Z","subjects":["School Accountability","Ethical Leadership","State Testing"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International"],"rights_urls":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:42903"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:42903","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/125225","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Lowery, Charles L."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Johnson, Marcus Lee","Elgart, Mark","Mullen, Carol Ann","Brinkmann, Jodie Lynn"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Faaborg, Ashley Hart"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-04-23T08:00:22Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-04-23T08:00:22Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-04-22"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["School Accountability","Ethical Leadership","State Testing"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:42903"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/125225"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation explored the intersection of ethical leadership theories and the economic neoliberal underpinnings of school accountability processes through the lens of middle school principals in Virginia. 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The findings reveal the ethical values of principals, the conceptualization of their role as ethical administrators in accountability, and a pattern in their perception based on their school's socio-economic status (SES). An argument is presented in this study for the integration of four key ethical components (context, veracity, clarity, and empowerment) as essential elements of a student-centered school accountability model. By prioritizing these components, policymakers can demonstrate ethical leadership that places students' well-being at the forefront of educational policy and practice."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["This dissertation explores how middle school principals in Virginia perceive school accountability through the lens of ethical leadership, which prioritizes holistic student outcomes in decision-making. 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