ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses pre-service, as well as practicing administrators, on the principles of democratic and ethical schooling. It describes exactly what democracy is in education, and explores what ethical practice means to a school leader. The chapter focuses on the school leader's relationship with and responsibility to students as they are potentially the most vulnerable and directly impacted group within the school. It argues that ethical leadership is predicated upon the school leader's enactment of democratic leadership practices that serve to establish and maintain a fair and just learning environment. Leading ethically and democratically in schools is a daunting task as school leaders negotiate the challenge of educating an increasingly diverse student population while upholding the democratic principles upon which the United States was founded. Engaging in democratic school leadership practices may require school leaders to engage in an intense examination and potentially a major rethinking of the purpose of schooling.
