Ethical Leadership, the climate crisis and listening to our children and young people
In a recent article Vivienne Porritt and Fee Stagg asked an
important question “Can governance be ethical if it is not diverse?”[i].
Now, there are many calls on our attention as governors, many plates to spin
and an ever-changing education landscape with which to grapple, but some things
are absolutely core to our work and ethical leadership, and all that it
entails, is right up there in my opinion.
A survey of literature on ethical leadership in education highlights a moral imperative that ethical
leadership must be about the ‘doing’ and not just the ‘saying’.
I have written about this before on this blog[ii],
fine words on the website are not enough, and as governing boards we must
ensure that we take action to live our vision and values. Indeed, I would argue that much has been done
to address the ‘saying’ beginning with legislation such as the Equalities Act (2010)
and through the development of the Seven Principles of Public Life, known
commonly as The Nolan Principles. These are enshrined in the Headteachers’
Standards 2020[iii],
in the Competency Framework for Governance[iv]
and in the report by the Ethical Leadership Commission (2019)[v].
We have the words, we have the 'saying', and so the challenge for governors and leaders is in the ‘doing’. There
are three areas identified in the literature that seem relevant and obvious
choices upon which to focus efforts namely equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI),
social justice and thirdly the climate crisis.
In this blog I want to talk about the third and, whilst fully in
agreement with the argument posed by Vivienne and Fee, I would argue that we also
cannot be ethical leaders if we do not take the concerns of our children and
young people into consideration over one of the greatest threats facing our
planet – and their future!
The Governance Handbook states that governors and
trustees should have “determination to initiate and lead strategic change when
this is in the best interests of children, young people” [vi].
It is absolutely clear that climate change will have the greatest impact upon our
children and young people and those of us with
strategic responsibilities must take this seriously - it is in their best
interests! This is about listening but
then acting upon what we hear – it’s about the ‘doing’. This imperative is recognised
by the United Nations statement on human rights and climate change[vii].
In this, the UN assert that because of the clear threat to their future
wellbeing children’s voices (as well as those of women, the disabled and other
marginalised groups) should not be absent from the debate but rather should be
included in the decision making. Stating that “they should be recognised as agents
of change and essential partners in the local, national and international
efforts to tackle climate change”. Children’s ideas may give us a different and
improved perspective indeed Executive Headteacher James Biddulph suggests in a recent blog
post - “perhaps their ideas are even better”[viii].
While
research highlights
eco-anxiety as a real issue in the lives of our children and young people, with
some expressing their worries about the future of our planet,
others have become activists and campaigners for change. In 2018 this movement began to impact schools
as large numbers of children across the world took part in Friday climate
strikes and marches, as allowed under Article 15 of the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child. Strong feelings, and a very strong imperative
for including the voices of children and young people in the strategic work of
governing boards and there are organisations and leaders within the education
sector who are already calling for this. The recent NGA (2021) guide to environmental
sustainability argues for engaging the voices of children and young people in
strategic decisions and that the need for governing boards to take the
initiative and get started on this is a pressing issue. Kayla Cohen, writing in response to the
COP26 Conference, asserts that our education system is failing to keep pace and
that we should see climate change as “a call to action … to set students up for success
in an uncertain climate”.[ix]
We must talk to the children in our schools, hear what they
want us to do and act upon it – if we embed sustainability and a green agenda
into our strategy all kinds of exciting initiatives may develop. Opportunities
to explore climate change and the environment in the curriculum, considering
sustainability in the resourcing plans for the school estate, involving the local
community in initiatives such as litter picks or sustainable travel to school
policies, and developing the values of responsibility and caring across the
school – all are possible and so much more. Together with our children and
young people many creative solutions will be developed at a local level. Let’s
make 2022 the year we embed this in the strategy in our schools. We can all play our part!
Finally,
we can learn much from other sectors where ethical leadership alone, as a model for good governance, has
been identified as not quite up to this important task. The business sector talks of “responsible
leadership”[x] which
places greater emphasis on stakeholders and on the ‘doing’ by acting upon their
concerns. Corporate responsibility has
gained much ground in recent years and, whilst some accuse organisations of ‘green
washing’ – just talking about environmental initiatives, the pressure from
stakeholders has driven others to enact change. We can act too - ethically,
responsibly and by embracing the moral purpose of education, we in governance can
ensure that, on behalf of our children’s future, we are very much about the ‘doing’.
[i] Porritt, V., &
Stagg, F. (2021). Can governance be ethical if it is not diverse? Management
in Education. Special Issue, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1177/08920206211057986
[ii] https://insearchofgreatschoolgovernance.blogspot.com/2019/04/lets-get-ethical-culture-ethos-and.html
[x] Maak, T., &
Pless, N. M. (2006). Responsible leadership in a stakeholder society: a relational
perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 66(1), 99-115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9047-z
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