An examination of the promotion of the ethic of professional praxis of secondary school principals: a South African perspective

Drawing on the ethic of profession as a theory, this research examines whether secondary school principals in Gauteng Province, South Africa, promote ethical leadership practices. This examination is against the backdrop of research findings which demonstrate that there are reported incidents of unethical practices by some school principals. This is also confirmed by various reports of the South African Department of Basic Education indicating that the education system is in dire need of ethical leadership. A qualitative research approach was conducted, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data. The outcomes include the following: participants' understanding of the theorization of the concept ethical leadership; their theorization of ethical leadership; principals reflecting unethical leadership practices; and a number of negative consequences of unethical practices in schools