This study proposes that special education teachers’ perceptions of psychological empowerment serve as a meaningful indicator of school administrators’ ethical leadership. The Perceptions of Ethical Leadership for Special Education (PELSE) survey instrument was developed to assess this construct, incorporating validated measures of procedural justice and psychological empowerment. Employing a quantitative observational methodology, the study examined responses from 488 special education teachers assigned to online teaching at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Internal consistency reliability for the PELSE was confirmed (α = .76). Findings are interpreted through a retrospective lens, highlighting how ethical leadership was perceived during a period when the U.S. Department of Education reinforced the mandate for continued compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. The study presents the PELSE as a replicable tool with relevance for pre-service leadership preparation, in-service administrator reflection, and future empirical inquiry into ethical leadership within special education contexts.

Despite the acknowledged importance of effective leadership in driving school improvement and enhancing student outcomes, limited empirical research focuses specifically on teachers' perceptions of leadership behaviour in the Ada East District (AED). This study aimed to explore teacher perceptions of leadership behaviours in basic schools in the AED. A descriptive survey design was used to describe and interpret leadership behaviour and teachers’ effectiveness. The target population for this study consisted of all teachers in basic schools in AED. From the target population, a sample of 96 teachers was selected from the 12 selected basic schools. A simple random sampling technique was employed to choose all 96 teachers of the public basic schools in Ada Basic School. A questionnaire was used to gather data from the teachers. The study revealed that teachers in the basic schools of the AED perceive a strong presence of instructional, curriculum, professional, transformational, and transactional leadership behaviours. The study found that the leadership behaviour of headteachers has a positive and significant impact (p = .000 < .01) on teachers' effectiveness. The study concluded that leadership behaviour accounts for 27.6% of the impact on teacher effectiveness. The Ghana Education Service was recommended to develop and implement professional development programs tailored explicitly for headteachers. Again, the Ministry of Education should reform educational policies to include specific guidelines and expectations for headteachers' leadership behaviours.