Promoting Ethical Leadership in School Leaders through Human Governance

Human governance (HG) adopts an inside-out approach to leadership, emphasizing self-regulation, moral accountability, and ethical decision-making beyond compliance with policies. Ethical leadership, in turn, is grounded in values such as integrity, fairness, and transparency, which are essential for fostering a trustworthy and effective school environment. This qualitative study explores the impact of human governance on ethical leadership among school leaders using an open-ended survey. Responses from 24 school leaders were analysed thematically to identify key patterns in how HG principles shape ethical leadership practices. The findings highlight five dominant themes: integrity, accountability, transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness. School leaders who demonstrated these values were more likely to be perceived as ethical leaders, reinforcing HG as a viable approach to fostering ethical governance in schools. This study contributes to the discourse on leadership integrity by demonstrating how HG principles can cultivate a school culture that prioritises ethical behaviour, trust, and responsible governance. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, educational institutions, and leadership training programs in strengthening ethical leadership practices. JEL Codes: I21, M14, D73 Keywords: Ethical Leadership; Governance in Education; Human Governance; Integrity and Accountability; School Leadership.