How a Servant Leader’s Ethos of Service and Stewardship Can Support Teachers’ Professional Ethos in Twenty-First Century Schools

The positive development of youth in schools rests heavily on the nature of the educators they learn from. Teacher ethos characterizes teachers’ professional ways of being – how teachers are in relationship with students, staff, and parents, how teachers become and embody their best selves. A teacher’s ethos is a combination of their character, competence, and credibility. Teachers’ ethos creates the context for moral learning in the classroom and can positively impact youth development more broadly through their collective contribution to the school’s ethos. School principals are a powerful determinant of the school ethos as well as the ability of teachers to develop and sustain their professional ethos. The developing ethos of new teachers and the maintenance and renewal of veteran teachers’ professional ethos are critical responsibilities of school leaders. Yet, teacher ethos, at least in the U.S., is an overlooked aspect of school leader effectiveness. In this chapter, we explore the potential consequences this lack of attention may have for teacher retention and the ways a school leaders’ ethos of Servant Leadership, with its rich conception of stewardship, can play a critical role in the development and protection of professional teacher ethos in twenty-first century schools.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

• Get 10 units per month
• Download Article/Chapter or eBook
• 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
• Cancel anytime

Buy Now

eBook EUR 192.59 Price includes VAT (France)

Softcover Book EUR 242.64 Price includes VAT (France)

Hardcover Book EUR 242.64 Price includes VAT (France)

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Similar content being viewed by others

Teachers Called to Stewardship

Teachers Called to Stewardship

Teachers and Administrators as Lead Professionals for Democratic Ethics: From Course Design to Collaborative Journeys of Becoming

References

• Alliance for Excellent Education (2014, July 24). The Alliance for Excellent Education archives. Teacher turnover high in low income schools. Washington DC: Author. Google Scholar
• Beck, M. (2018). Aristotelian leadership: Creating a community ethos founded on intercultural virtues. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 15(1), 74–86. Google Scholar
• Berson, Y., & Oreg, S. (2016). The role of school principals in shaping children’s values. Psychological Science, 27(12), 1539–1154. ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Bier, M. C., & Sherblom, S. A. (2020). Virtuous leadership as a complex developmental and contextual dynamic. Journal of Character Education, 16(1), v–xi. Google Scholar
• Block, P. (2013). Stewardship: Choosing service over self-interest. Berrett-Koehler. Google Scholar
• Brinckerhoff, P. C. (2004). Nonprofit stewardship: A better way to lead your mission-based organization. Fieldstone Alliance. Google Scholar
• Brumley, C. (2012). Leadership standards in action: The school principal as servant-leader. R & L Education. Google Scholar
• Bryk, A. S., Sebring, P. B., Allensworth, E., Luppescu, S., & Easton, J. Q. (2010). Organizing schools for improvement. University of Chicago Press. Google Scholar
• Caza, A., Barker, B. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2004). Ethics and ethos: The buffering and amplifying effects of ethical behavior and virtuousness. Journal of Business Ethics, 52, 169–178. ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Crippen, C. (2005). The democratic school. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 47, 1–17. Google Scholar
• Day, C., Sammons, P., Hopkins, D., Harris, A., Leithwood, K., Gu, Q., Brown, E., Ahtaridou, E., & Kington, A. (2009). The impact of school leadership on pupil outcomes: Final report. UK Department for Children, Schools and Families Research. Google Scholar
• Dewey, J. (1916). Experience and thinking. Democracy and education. Free Press, Collier-MacMillan Ltd. Google Scholar
• Dunn, A. H. (2018). Leaving a profession after it’s left you: Teachers’ public resignation letters as resistance amidst neoliberalism. Teachers College Record, 120(9), 1–34. Google Scholar
• Eisner, E. W. (1994). Ethos and education. Place of publication not identified: Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum. Google Scholar
• Floden, R., Stephens, A., & Scherer, L. (2020). Changing expectations for the K-12 teacher workforce: Policies, preservice education, professional development, and the workplace (Consensus study report). National Academies Press. BookGoogle Scholar
• Frank, J. (2015 January). Demoralization and teaching: Lessons from the blues. In Philosophy of education yearbook (pp. 127–134). Google Scholar
• Fray, L., & Gore, J. (2018). Why people choose teaching: A scoping review of empirical studies, 2007–2016. Teaching and Teacher Education, 75, 153–163. ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Furman, G. C., & Starratt, R. J. (2002). Leadership for democratic community in schools. Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, 104(9), 105–133. Google Scholar
• García, E., & Weiss, E. (2019a). The role of early career supports, continuous professional development, and learning communities in the teacher shortage. The first report in “the perfect storm in the teacher labor market” series. Economic Policy Institute. Google Scholar
• García, E., & Weiss, E. (2019b). U.S. schools struggle to hire and retain teachers. The second report in “the perfect storm in the teacher labor market” series. Economic Policy Institute. Google Scholar
• Glickman, C., Gordon, S., & Ross-Gordon, J. (2005). The basic guide to supervision and instructional leadership. Pearson Education Ltd.. Google Scholar
• Glover, D., & Coleman, M. (2005). School culture, climate and ethos: Interchangeable or distinctive concepts? Journal of In-Service Education, 31(2), 251–272. ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Goodlad, J. I. (1999). Flow, Eros, and ethos in educational renewal. Phi Delta Kappan, 42(2), 571–578. Google Scholar
• Gray, C., Fry, B., Bottoms, G., & O’Neill, K. (2007). Good principals aren’t born — They’re mentored: Are we investing enough to get the school leaders we need? (Vol. 30318). Learning-centered Leadership Program, Southern Regional Education Board. Google Scholar
• Greenleaf, R. K. (1970). The servant as leader. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. Google Scholar
• Greenleaf, R. K. (1972). The institution as servant. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. Google Scholar
• Greenleaf, R. K. (1998). The power of servant-leadership: Essays. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Google Scholar
• Habegger, S. (2008, September/October). The principal’s role in successful schools: Creating a positive school culture. Principal, 87, 42–46. Google Scholar
• Hannah, S. T., & Avolio, B. J. (2011). Leader character, ethos, and virtue: Individual and collective considerations. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(5), 989–994. ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Hannah, S. T., & Jennings, P. L. (2013). Leader ethos and Big-C character. Organizational Dynamics, 42(1), 8–6. ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Hansen, D. T. (1995). The call to teach. Teachers College Press. Google Scholar
• Hansen, D. T. (2001). Exploring the moral heart of teaching: Toward a teacher’s creed. Teachers College Press. Google Scholar
• Hernandez, M. (2008). Promoting stewardship behavior in organizations: A leadership model. Journal of Business Ethics, 80(1), 8. ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Ikemoto, G., Taliaferro, L., Fenton, B., & Davis, J. (2014). The great principals at scale: Creating district conditions that enable all principals to be effective; executive summary. New Leaders. Google Scholar
• Ingersoll, R. M. (2003). Who controls teachers’ work? Power and accountability in America’s schools. Harvard University Press. Google Scholar
• Joyce, B., & Calhoun, E. (1995). School renewal: An inquiry, not a formula. Educational Leadership, 52(7), 51–55. Google Scholar
• Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2007). The leadership challenge (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass. Google Scholar
• Latzko, B. (2012). Educating teachers ethos. In D. Alt & R. Reingold (Eds.), Changes in teachers moral role (pp. 201–210). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Google Scholar
• Latzko, B., & Paeszler, A. C. (2018). Professionals’ ethos and education for responsibility: Teachers’ ethos as an example of professionals’ ethos. In Professionals’ ethos and education for responsibility (pp. 151–162). Leiden: Brill Sense. Google Scholar
• Laub, J. A. (1999). Assessing the servant organization: Development of the Organizational Leadership Assessment (OLA) instrument. Dissertation Abstracts International, 60 (02), 308A (UMI No. 9921922). Google Scholar
• Leithwood, K., & Louis, K. S. (2012). Linking leadership to student learning. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Google Scholar
• Leithwood, K., Louis, K. S., Anderson, S., & Wahlstrom, K. (2004). How leadership influences student learning. Learning from leadership project. New York: Wallace Foundation Google Scholar
• Lickona, T., & Davidson, M. (2005). Smart & good high schools: Integrating excellence and ethics for success in school, work, and beyond. Center for the 4th and 5th Rs/Character Education Partnership. Google Scholar
• Louis, K. S., & Murphy, J. (2017). Trust, caring and organizational learning: The leader’s role. Journal of Educational Administration, 55(1), 103–126. Google Scholar
• McLaughlin, T. (2005). The educative importance of ethos. British Journal of Educational Studies, 53(3), 306–325. ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Merriam Webster’s collegiate dictionary “10th”. Ethos. Springfield, MA: G & C Merriam Company. Google Scholar
• Muller, J. Z. (2019). Tyranny of metrics. Princeton University Press. BookGoogle Scholar
• Murphy, J., Louis, K. S., & Smylie, M. (2017). Positive school leadership: How the professional standards for educational leaders can be brought to life. Phi Delta Kappan, 99(1), 21–24. ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Nash, R. J., & Agne, R. M. (1972). The ethos of accountability- A critique. Teachers College Record, 73(3), 4–5. Google Scholar
• Rozema, R., & Bush, J. (2005). Opening words: Ethos, teaching, and best practice. Language Arts Journal of Michigan, 21. (2), Article 2. Available at: https://doi.org/10.9707/2168-149X.1190
• Sanger, M. N., Osguthorpe, R. D., & Fenstermacher, G. D. (2013). The moral work of teaching in teacher education. In M. N. Sanger & R. D. Osguthorpe (Eds.), The moral work of teachering and teacher education (pp. 155–185). Teachers College Press. Google Scholar
• Santoro, D. A. (2018). Demoralized: Why teachers leave the profession they love and how they can stay. Harvard Education Press. Google Scholar
• Seashore Louis, K., Leithwood, K., Wahlstrom, K. L., & Anderson, S. E. (2010). Investigating the links to improved student learning. Retrieved from the Wallace Foundation website: www.wallace foundation.org/knowledge-center/school -leadership/key-research/Documents /Investigating-the-Links-to-Improved -Student-Learning.pdf Google Scholar
• Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Google Scholar
• Sergiovanni, T. J. (1992). Moral leadership: Getting to the heart of school improvement. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass. Google Scholar
• Sherblom, S. A. (2012). What develops in moral development?: A model of moral sensibility. Journal of Moral Education, 41(1), 117–142. ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Sherblom, S. A. (2015). A moral experience feedback loop: Modeling a system of moral self-cultivation in everyday life. Journal of Moral Education, 44(3), 364–381. ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Smith, W. F. (1999). Moral stewards of the schools. In W. F. Smith & G. D. Fenstermacher (Eds.), Leadership for educational renewal (pp. 155–185). Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass. Google Scholar
• Smith, A. (2008). What schools are for by John Goodlad. Journal of Educational Controversy, 3(1), 1–4. Google Scholar
• Smith, W. F., & Fenstermacher, G. D. (Eds.). (1999). Leadership for educational renewal: Developing a cadre of leaders. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass. Google Scholar
• Spears, L. C. (2005). The understanding and practice of servant leadership. In Servant leadership research roundtable, the school of leadership studies. Regent University. Google Scholar
• Spears, L. C., & Lawrence, M. (2002). Focus on leadership: Servant-leadership for the twenty-first century. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Google Scholar
• Starratt, R. J. (2001). Democratic leadership theory in late modernity: An oxymoron or ironic possibility? International Journal of Leadership in Education, 4(4), 333–352. Google Scholar
• Starratt, R. J. (2007). Leading a community of learners: Learning to be moral by engaging the morality of learning. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 35(2), 165–183. ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Suggitt, H. (2014). Staying positive – The power of a strong school ethos. Teach Secondary, 12–14. Google Scholar
• Thapa, A., Cohen, J., Guffey, S., & Higgins-D’Alessandro, A. (2013). A review of school climate research. Review of Educational Research, 83(3), 357–385. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654313483907
• The American heritage dictionary of the English language. (2017). Ethos. Boston: MA, Houghton Mifflin. Google Scholar
• Theoharis, G. (2010). Disrupting injustice: Principals narrate the strategies they use to improve their schools and advance social justice. Teachers College Record, 112(1), 331–373. Google Scholar
• van Dierendonck, D., & Patterson, K. (2015). Compassionate love as a cornerstone of servant leadership: An integration of previous theorizing and research. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(1), 119–131. ArticleGoogle Scholar
• Weinberger, A., Biedermann, H., Patry, J. L., & Weyringer, S. (Eds.). (2018). Professionals’ ethos and education for responsibility. Leiden: Brill Sense Pub. Google Scholar
• Yontz, B. D. (2012). Continuing the conversation: Ensuring stewardship of our nation’s schools. Education in a Democracy, 4(1), 55–75. Google Scholar
• Zumwalt, K., & Craig, E. (2005). Teachers’ characteristics: Research on the demographic profile. In Studying teacher education: The report of the AERA panel on research and teacher education (pp. 111–156). American Educational Research Association. Google Scholar

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

1. University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO, USA Melinda C. Bier, Marvin W. Berkowitz & Eboni Sterling
2. Emergence Complex Consulting, St Louis, MO, USA Stephen A. Sherblom

1. Melinda C. Bier