Getting the Balance Right: Duty as a core ethic in the life of the school

This paper suggests that there are good grounds for re-appraising the role of duty in the life of schools. A current emphasis upon the topic on both sides of the Atlantic has roots in a reaction to predominantly liberal concepts of society and education, and is expressed most forcefully in the arguments of virtue theorists, communitarians and character educators. Nevertheless, there are also profound dangers in the adoption of the concept from these perspectives, as they may fail to appreciate the symbiotic nature which it has with the concept of rights. Nevertheless, it is suggested that there are still strong arguments at both theoretical and practical levels for a concept of duty as a core ethic in the life of schools which transcends parochial issues and which nests the concept within different levels of concern, leading to a greater emphasis and implementation of the concept in school management and curricula, even if ultimately such adoption leads to as many problems as it solves.