Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the extent to which principals of public secondary schools in East Dammam practice ethical leadership from the perspective of teachers. Specifically, it explored the level of practice across three dimensions: ethical personal traits, ethical administrative traits, and human relations. In addition, the study sought to identify differences in practice according to two variables: academic qualification and years of service. Methods: A descriptive survey method was employed, and a questionnaire comprising 24 items was administered to a sample of 330 teachers working in public secondary schools in East Dammam. Results: The findings revealed that the overall level of ethical leadership practice was moderate across all dimensions. The dimension of ethical personal traits ranked first, followed by human relations in second place, while the dimension of ethical administrative traits came last. The results further showed statistically significant differences in practice based on academic qualification and years of service. Conclusions: The study concluded that the practice of ethical leadership among secondary school principals requires further development, particularly in the administrative and human relations dimensions, in order to enhance school management effectiveness and improve the quality of the educational environment.