Education for ethically sensitive teaching in critical incidents at school

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to identify and investigate critical incidents at school that require ethically sensitive teaching. This kind of knowledge is needed in teacher education to prepare future teachers for their profession. The data included narrative interviews with 12 teachers from four urban schools in Finland. Critical incidents were defined as issues or situations in teachers' work that produce ethical reflection and moral emotions. The critical incidents experienced by urban schoolteachers were analysed and compared with earlier studies on ethical dilemmas in teaching. Concrete examples of these incidents were reported which contain teachers' emotional expressions. Four main categories of critical incidents were identified. These were related to the principal, students and families, teachers, and the school community. Teachers reported commitment, caring, co‐operation and respect as the most dominant emotional expressions in these situations. These emotional expressions reflected ethical sensitivity skills, especially in reading and expressing emotions. Based on our study we suggest recommendations for teacher educators on how education for ethically sensitive teaching can be promoted.

Keywords:

• ethically sensitive teaching
• moral emotions
• urban school teachers
• critical incidents
• teacher educators