The Perceptions of Undergraduate and Graduate Students about Ethical Leadership Behaviors of Academic Staff

Fırat Kıyas Bi̇rel

doi:10.5539/ies.v12n3p71

Abstract

The aim of this study is to identify how undergraduate and graduate students perceive the ethical leadership behaviors of academic staff. It is also tried to be found out whether dimensions of ethical leadership behavior (communicational ethics, climate ethics, ethics in decision making processes and behavioral ethics) show differences according to the variables of educational level, gender and age of the participant students. The study is in descriptive survey model. The sample is undergraduate and graduate students at Dicle University, Faculty of Education in 2013-2014. As data collection tool “Ethical Leadership Scale (ELS)” developed by Yılmaz (2005) was used. Mean, standard deviation, independent sample t-test and ANOVA test were used to analyze the data. It is concluded that the undergraduate and graduate students’ perceptions of ethical leadership behaviors of academic staff are at mid-level. The means concerning the ethical leadership behaviors of academic staff in terms of behavioral ethics, ethical decision making and communication ethics is 3.01, 3.00 and 2.89 respectively. The lowest mean about the perceptions of undergraduate and graduate students’ about leadership behaviors of academic staff is in climate ethics (2.83).

Highlights

When looking back in human history in the light of our available knowledge, we see that every society has maintained a series of ethical rules in forms and rituals that are unique to the geographical, religious and cultural environment the society lives in
The findings obtained in the study have been organized in sub-problems and sorted in sub-dimensions of ethical leadership as communication ethics, climate ethics, ethics in decision making, behavioral ethics
We have come to the conclusion that the conceptions of undergraduate and graduate students in respect of ethical leadership behaviors of academic staff realize at mid-level

Summary

Introduction

When looking back in human history in the light of our available knowledge, we see that every society has maintained a series of ethical rules in forms and rituals that are unique to the geographical, religious and cultural environment the society lives in. In the course of time, these ethical rules and practices have been institutionalized into a system regulating the social life and controlling its continuity and become an essential factor in individual-society correlation. First of all religious beliefs, culture, historical backgrounds, geographical environment, traditions that play a significant role in social integration are the key factors that complement this structure. The term ethics (ethos) derives from the Greek word ethos, which means “relating to one’s character”. While the concept of ethics rather refers to the character of an individual, the term morality is mainly used in the context of human relations (Thiroux, 1998, cited in Yılmaz, 2006)

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