Integrating ethical knowledge into teacher education: A framework for moral formation

İngilizce (OpenAlex)

Contemporary societies face growing concerns regarding moral ambiguity and trust in institutions and professionals, including education and teachers. This may be linked to a potential decline in teacher ethics and a shift in the educational focus toward practical skills. This paper proposes a novel approach to address this problem by expanding Shulman’s teacher knowledge via the ethical knowledge (EK) framework. The proposed framework emphasizes enhancing teacher knowledge in ethics, pedagogical ethics, subject-specific ethical considerations, and the pedagogical knowledge of character education. While the paper details these specific knowledge areas and provides examples for each, it underlines equipping prospective educators with sufficient ethical knowledge to contribute to a morally responsible profession by making fair and right instructional decisions, navigating the complex ethical landscapes of contemporary classrooms, and developing character in their students. Finally, this paper discusses the limitations and future research orientations studying of the EK framework.