ETHICAL AND VALUES EDUCATION DRIVEN LEADERSHIP IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

This paper reviewed ethical and values education driven leadership, in higher education. The principles of ethical leadership, the Kantians ethical theory, the challenges to ethical leadership and reengineering these challenges. The principles of ethical driven leadership in higher education ensures that governance, decision making, interpersonal relationships, align with moral values such as is focused on fairness, honesty and integrity which is a fundamental requirement in shaping a positive higher education institution. This study also reviewed ethical and value driven leadership in higher education informed by various ethical theories that influence ethical driven leadership. Out of all the ethical theories the focus of this paper was on the relevance of the Kantian ethical theory to the ethical and value driven leadership in higher education. Despite the importance of ethical and value driven leadership in higher education, some unethical behaviours and challenges abound. Challenges such as: managing finances responsibly, ensuring the responsible use of resources, including navigating conflicts of interest, promoting diversity and inclusion and upholding academic integrity, fostering a strong ethical culture, addressing potential conflicts between personal, plagiarism, organizational values, and manage situations where unethical behaviour occurs despite their best efforts among others. These challenges in ethical driven leadership in higher education has led famous administrators, organisations and higher institutions to fall from grace. This has highlighted the relevancy for ethical and values education driven leadership. Amongst other things, these unethical behaviours may also deter the smooth administration of the higher institutions, affect the quality of graduates from these institutions, reduce the competitive status of these graduates in the globalised world and hamper some of the goals of higher education. Suggestions for re -engineering the challenges of ethical leadership was proposed.