"Irresponsible leadership" and unethical practices in schools: A conceptual framework of the "dark side" of educational leadership

This chapter focuses on a proposed framework of irresponsible leadership (IRL) that might emerge in our schools under certain circumstances. A second purpose is to analyze potential ways to prevent its rise, based on previous models of educational leadership. Broadly, IRL is composed of five elements: narrow view of education, a business-like view of the teacher-student relations, a Narcissist and ego-centrist view, self-centered decision making, and emotional unawareness and poor emotion regulation. Unsurprisingly, IRL results in decreased levels of teachers' and students' well-being unethical school climate, a lack of social responsibility in the teacher lounge and school failure. To prevent these and related results, three major leadership models in education-participative, moral and social justice, and instructional-were analyzed.