Ethical leadership in educational organizations: A cross-cultural study

The goal of this study is to examine how educators from both Eastern and Western cultures define ethical leadership and which characteristics they associate with ethical leaders. This study also explores ethical examples of educators, tries to answer if major events like Covid-19, high-technology, migration have changed their ethical perceptions, and lastly, examines their reactions to unethical conduct. This qualitative study employed a phenomenological research design. Data collection using semi-structured interviews and open-ended surveys was conducted with 51 educators from Eastern and Western countries. The findings indicate that the attributes of ethical leadership, like honesty, respect, fairness, and justice, are endorsed across both cultures. Other attributes, like flexibility, religiosity, and responsibility, were articulated by the educators from the Eastern sample, while rationality, team spirit and ability to listen were highlighted in the Western sample. The participants recounted their experiences of ethical leadership around several themes, some of which are a friendly approach, equality, defending the rights of others, and standing for right. They specified their different responses to unethical acts and mainly believe that ethics are constant throughout history.