Multidimensional Ethical Analysis of the Magic City Acceptance Academy: Giving Voice to Student Perspectives

Abstract

This article focuses on the student experience of attending the Magic City Acceptance Academy (MCAA), a unique, public charter school designed to explicitly address the social, emotional, and academic learning needs of LGBTQ students and others who may have experienced disenfranchisement, bullying, and violence in previous school settings. Researchers conducted a focus group with students from MCAA to explore their perceptions of and reflections on their time in attendance at MCAA. Student reflections and comments were analyzed using a multidimensional ethical framework (Shapiro & Gross, 2013; Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2022; Starratt, 1994). Students overwhelmingly expressed positive comments about their experiences at MCAA due to their newfound freedom to be their authentic selves, feelings of mutual respect between teachers and students, and teacher attention to and regard for addressing individual learning, social, and personal needs of students. The multidimensional ethical decision-making framework was applied as an analytical tool in a unique way to reflect upon and present these student voices. Researchers conclude that opening MCAA was a highly ethical endeavor and is an especially unique model for how to build an ethical school. The article contributes to the literature and knowledge base on ethical educational leadership by applying the multidimensional ethical paradigm in a unique way and by providing a poignant example of what an ethical school looks like in practice.