In the previous chapter, we adhered to Kohlbergâs cognitive tradition in moral development by emphasizing rationality in teachersâ moral argumentation and justification for their ethical conduct. In our research on teachersâ professional morality, we have adapted Oserâs ethos model to include caring as an important aspect of ethical reflection. This chapter discusses caring as part of the ethical sensitivity that teachers require to identify moral dilemmas in their work and predict the consequences of different solutions to these dilemmas. Moreover, teachers require tools to assess their own and their studentsâ skills in ethical sensitivity. In this chapter, we present a self-report instrument that can be used in educational contexts in different cultures.
1 Caring in Teachersâ Professional Ethics
Moral thinking that emphasizes empathy and caring assigns priority to human relationships when solving moral dilemmas. Genuine encounters with others and protection of the weak are the most important aspects of the search for right actions. Hypothetical moral dilemmas used in Kohlbergâs studies are dominated by authoritative relationships and ownership. Reflection on these dilemmas develop studentsâ cognitive thinking and the search for universal principles of justice. By contrast, the real-life moral dilemmas that young people encounter are dominated by social and romantic relationships (Tirri, 2003a). In real-life moral dilemmas, people encounter, in addition to questions of justice, many other factors that influence their decisions. A personâs moral decision making is not guided by abstract rational thinking; rather affective factors are also influential, including devotion and emotional ties (Bandura, 1991; Rest, 1983). Moreover, instead of reaching decisions deductively, the person often reflects on the specifics of the individual case. Nevertheless, moral thinking can be inductive and the right action determined case by case. In human relationships, empathy and adopting the role of the other person are skills that provide a wider perspective for solving moral dilemmas than does the search for a logical and just decision alone. Interestingly, gender differences have been found between the choice of a justice-oriented or care-oriented solution, with males tending to favor universal justice-oriented thinking and females more likely to adopt a care-oriented approach (Gilligan & Attanucci, 1988).
In a caring relationship, a person wishes to do good for the other, understands them and their life situation and is prepared to strive for their best interest. Nevertheless, a teacher cannot act or make decisions on behalf of a student. They can simply highlight the studentâs potential to develop. This kind of care is emancipatory in nature and is intended to help students find their own path.
In sum, mature solutions to moral dilemmas require ethical sensitivity and care in addition to a well-developed conception of justice. Thus, justice can be viewed as a necessary but insufficient condition of a moral system. A brutal person can be just or completely biased in their brutality. By contrast, a society that connects the principle of justice to care is much more of a truly human community than a society pursuing justice alone (Peters, 1966).
2 What Is Ethical Sensitivity?
As society grows ever more diverse, teachers require ethical sensitivity to interact with different partners. A teacher needs the skill to adopt the role of diverse students, families and colleagues when reflecting on shared goals and aims. Ethical sensitivity means awareness of the way our actions affect other people (Bebeau et al., 1999). Without ethical sensitivity, it is impossible for a teacher to identify ethical challenges in the school community. A teacher with ethical sensitivity skills can identify the ethical issues present in different situations and visualize multiple options for solving them. Ethical expertise consists of four different skills: ethical sensitivity, ethical judgment, ethical motivation, and ethical action (Bebeau et al., 1999; Narvaez & Endicott, 2009). In teachersâ professional ethics, ethical sensitivity is a key factor for identifying and solving moral dilemmas in schools. Without recognizing the ethical dimension in education, ethical questions cannot proceed to decision making and ethical action.
Narvaez and Endicott (2009; Narvaez, 2001) operationalize ethical sensitivity in terms of seven skills: (1) reading and expressing emotions, (2) adopting the perspective of others, (3) caring by connecting to others, (4) working with interpersonal and group differences, (5) preventing social bias, (6) generating interpretations and options, and (7) identifying the consequences of action and options. We have developed the Ethical Sensitivity Scale Questionnaire (ESSQ, see Table 2) to provide self-assessment tools for teachersâ and students (Tirri & Nokelainen, 2011).
Ethical Sensitivity Scale Questionnaire (ESSQ)
| Dimensions | Items | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reading and expressing emotions | es1_1 | In conflict situations, I am able to identify other peopleâs feelings. |
| es1_2 | I am able to express my different feelings to other people. | ||
| es1_3 | I notice if someone working with me is offended by me. | ||
| es1_4 | I am able to express to other people if I am offended or hurt because of them. | ||
| 2 | Taking the perspectives of others | es2_5a | I am able to cooperate with people who do not share my opinions on what is right and what is wrong. |
| es2_6a | I tolerate different ethical views in my surroundings. | ||
| es2_7a | I think it is good that my closest friends think in different ways. | ||
| es2_8a | I also get along with people who do not agree with me. | ||
| 3 | Caring by connecting to others | es3_9a | I am concerned about the wellbeing of my partners. |
| es3_10a | I take care of the wellbeing of others and try to improve it. | ||
| es3_11a | In conflict situations, I do my best to take actions that aim at maintaining good personal relationships. | ||
| es3_12a | I try to have good contact with all the people I am working with. | ||
| 4 | Working with interpersonal and group differences | es4_13 | I take other peopleâs points of view into account before making any important decisions in my life. |
| es4_14 | I try to consider another personâs position when I face a conflict situation. | ||
| es4_15a | When I am working on ethical problems, I consider the impact of my decisions on other people. | ||
| es4_16 | I try to consider other peopleâs needs, even in situations concerning my own benefits. | ||
| 5 | Preventing social bias | es5_17 | I recognize my own bias when I take a stand on ethical issues. |
| es5_18 | I realize that I am tied to certain prejudices when I assess ethical issues. | ||
| es5_19 | I try to control my own prejudices when making ethical evaluations. | ||
| es5_20 | When I am resolving ethical problems, I try to take a position evolving out of my own social status. | ||
| 6 | Generating interpretations and options | es6_21a | I contemplate the consequences of my actions when making ethical decisions. |
| es6_22a | I ponder different alternatives when aiming at the best possible solution to an ethically problematic situation. | ||
| es6_23 | I am able to create many alternative ways to act when I face ethical problems in my life. | ||
| es6_24a | I believe there are several right solutions to ethical problems. | ||
| 7 | Identifying the consequences of actions and options | es7_25a | I notice that there are ethical issues involved in human interaction. |
| es7_26a | I see a lot of ethical problems around me. | ||
| es7_27a | I am aware of the ethical issues I face at school. | ||
| es7_28a | I am better than other people at recognizing new and current ethical problems. | ||
2.1
As a concept and phenomenon, ethical sensitivity was first acknowledged in the US (Rest, 1985; Narvaez & Endicott, 2009). However, when a theory or model has been developed in one country, it is important to study, test and validate it in other cultures and countries. In this section, we present our research on identifying the culture-dependent and culture-independent features of ethical sensitivity. We investigated the relationship between the dimensions of ethical sensitivity and the structure of the phenomenon in three different countries: Finland, Estonia and Iran (Gholami et al., 2015; Ronkainen et al., 2021).
A study conducted by Hofsted, Hoftsted and Minkov (2010) on cultural differences identified five dimensions that distinguish various countries. These dimensions are individuality-collectivity, power distance, indulgence-restraint, long term-short term orientation and masculinity-femininity. Table 3 presents the cultural dimensions that characterize the countries we have studied. Finland and Estonia both represent European cultures that emphasize individuality and equality (Hofstede et al., 2010). By contrast, Iranian culture emphasizes collectivity, large power distances (e.g., the teacher is an explicit authority) and strict social norms influenced by the Iranian interpretation of Islam. In turn, Finnish and Iranian cultures value virtues related to the past and present, which can be seen in appreciation of education and moral education in schools. Instead, Estonian culture emphasizes virtues directed towards the future and economic success, such as persistence and frugality. From the perspective of education, this has meant that in Estonia moral education has not been seen as integral part of school pedagogy until recently. However, these three countries all share a feminist approach in the sense that all people are expected to be interested in human relations and the quality of life.
Cultural dimensions of Finland, Estonia and Iran
| Cultural dimensions | Finland | Estonia | Iran |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individualism-collectivism | Individualism | Individualism | Collectivism |
| Power distance | Small | Small | Large |
| Indulgence-restraint | Indulgence | Restraint | Restraint |
| Long term-short term orientation | Short | Long | Short |
| Masculinity-femininity | Femininity | Femininity | Femininity |
The participants in our studies were Finnish teachers (n = 864, of which 522 were in-service teachers and 342 were preservice), Estonian teachers (n = 412) and Iranian teachers (n = 556). All three groups ranked highly in ethical sensitivity, which can be explained by teaching being viewed as a deeply ethical
Ethical sensitivity among Finnish, Estonian and Iranian teachers
Taking the perspective of others was found to be a culturally dependent dimension of ethical sensitivity. In Finland and Estonia, taking the perspective of others predicted caring for others, indicating that in Finnish and Estonian cultures caring means an empathetical approach where one attempts to view the world through the eyes of others or places oneself âin their shoes.â Instead, in Iran taking the perspective of others was neither directly nor indirectly associated with caring for others, which indicates that in Iran Islamic and collectivistic values are prioritized over the values and thoughts of individuals. This can also be seen in Iranian teacher education, where only confessional Muslims who are committed to advocating the religious values of society are chosen for teacher education (Hedayati et al., 2017b).
Ethical sensitivity is manifested in different cultures and countries in different ways. However, caring by connecting to others seems to represent the core of ethical sensitivity regardless of culture or country. It is manifested in concern and taking care about wellbeing of others and keeping good relations even in conflict situations. Our empirical results about teachersâ ethical sensitivity in different countries indicate that ethical sensitivity is understood in same ways in different countries, however, teachers can emphasize different
3 Ethical Sensitivity in Identifying and Solving Moral Dilemmas in Schools
Acknowledging the dimensions of ethical sensitivity helps teachers identify their existing strengths and areas requiring further development. In teaching, ethical sensitivity is necessary for identifying and solving moral dilemmas. Moreover, in multicultural schools, the different backgrounds of students, teachers and parents challenge us to build a shared school culture that values and understands diversity.
3.1 Teachersâ and Studentsâ Perspectives
In addition to quantitative studies, we have explored teachersâ and studentsâ skills in identifying moral dilemmas and conflicts with qualitative approaches. In a recent study conducted in Tehran, Iran, 20 teachers were interviewed, and 302 secondary school students wrote essays about moral conflicts in their schools (Hedayati et al., 2019). The data included 163 girls from a female school and 139 boys from a male school. In both schools, 10 female and 10 male teachers participated. Here, data collection replicated Tirriâs (1999b, 2003a) earlier studies: the teachers were asked to describe the most challenging moral dilemma they had experienced in their work, while students were advised to write stories about unfair situations in school. 40 students were then interviewed about their stories.
One of our teachers is very aggressive. She does not care about students. Once, two of my friends were talking in class, and the teacher hit their hands with a ruler â¦. We were sad. (Iranian female student, Hedayati et al., 2019, p. 6)
Moral conflicts in Iranian schools (from Hedayati et al., 2019, p. 6)
| Moral conflicts | Studentsâ perspective | Teachersâ perspective | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female n = 163 f |
Male n = 139 f |
Female n = 10 f |
Male n = 10 f |
|
| Matters related to staff behavior | 120 | 128 | 8 | 2 |
| Punishment | 94 | 106 | ||
| Other matters | 26 | 22 | 8 | 2 |
| Matters related to student behavior | 101 | 120 | 2 | 2 |
| Studentsâ work ethic | 67 | 68 | 2 | 2 |
| Peer relations | 34 | 52 | ||
| Sensitive issues | 15 | 2 | ||
| Matters related to religion | 15 | 1 | ||
| Matters related to minorities | 1 | |||
| Matters related to parent behavior | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
By contrast, no Iranian teacher identified punishment as a moral dilemma in their school. However, in a previous study on moral dilemmas in Finnish
The second largest category among Iranian teachers and students concerned matters related to studentsâ behavior. This category included issues related to studentsâ work ethic and peer relations. The same issues had already been identified in Tirriâs (1999b, 2003a) studies in Finland. In both countries,
Finnish schools have widely implemented the anti-bullying program KiVa-school (Salmivalli, 2010; Salmivalli et al., 2011), that provides tools and materials for schools to prevent bullying. However, despite achieving some promising results, the programme has thus far failed to solve this challenge. The current educational policy in Finland attempts to criminalize bullying in schools and hold students accountable for their actions (Finnish Parliament, 2020; Vierimaa, 2012). An interesting cross-cultural difference regarding moral conflicts in Iranian and Finnish schools seems to be that aggressive behavior in Iran was mostly related to adultsâ behavior, while in Finland it concerned studentsâ behavior.
Sensitive issues in Iranian schools were related to religion, ethnicity and sexual relations (Hedayati et al., 2017a, 2019). The same topics were also included in moral dilemmas identified by Finnish teachers (Tirri 1999b), even though the Finnish constitution guarantees equal rights and non-discrimination for all, irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity, language, religion, worldview, opinion, health, or disability (Finnish Constitution 731/1999). Finnish teachersâ ethical code emphasize dignity and ârespect for humanity.â According to the code, â[t]eachers must respect every person, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender diversity, appearance, age, religion, social standing, origin, opinions, abilities and achievementsâ (Trade Union of Education in Finland, 2010), indicating an even broader perspectives than the constitution.
I have a child in my kindergarten group who is developmentally delayed in many areas. This is a very difficult thing for his parents to admit. We
have tried to discuss this issue with them with a medical doctor, but these discussions have not changed their attitude. The child should start school in a year and a half, but I donât think he is mature enough for it. Every time I talk with his parents, I feel I am torturing them with suggestions of speech therapy, etc. However, I didnât think I had a choice here. I told the parents that their child needs professional help in order to be ready for school. The parents were very angry with me, and they told me they would transfer their child to another kindergarten. Their cooperation with me was finished. I knew I did the right thing because I had the support of my supervisor and colleagues. I had to take the perspective of the child even it did not please his parents. I had to be honest with the parents. Now it is their choice what to do with their child. I could only suggest ways to help the child develop. (Finnish kindergarten teacher, Tirri & Husu, 2002, pp. 70â71)
Teachersâ professional ethics are guided by truthfulness manifested in honesty in communication with parents. Teachers cannot raise grades or evaluate students based on parental expectations. According to Finnish studies, moral issues in schools are not always solved in a positive way. Discussions and consultations often fail to cause improvement, and cases frequently remain open and unsolved (Tirri & Husu, 2002). However, in these negotiations with parents, students and colleagues, teachers can demonstrate that they are caring, responsible and ethical professionals.
3.2 Parentsâ Perspectives
The most important component is smooth communication and no barrier. Because if you donât have a barrier, you can also approach the teacher with some problematic issues or ask for advice â¦. We all are emotional
beings, and we see things in a different way, so it is important to communicate, to speak things out and to be understood. (Finnish father, Levinthal et al., 2021, p. 9)
Parentsâ perspectives on how teachers can support the parent-teacher partnership (from Levinthal et al., 2021, p. 8)
| Teachers support partnership and parental engagement when they ⦠| Finnish (n = 10) f |
Portuguese (n = 9) f |
Total (N = 19) f |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communicate | 76 | 59 | 135 |
| Engage in dialogue | 42 | 34 | 76 |
| Inform | 26 | 12 | 38 |
| Give pedagogical advice | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| Welcome parentsâ initiatives | 1 | 9 | 10 |
| Show professionalism | 44 | 24 | 68 |
| Have competence to teach | 38 | 17 | 55 |
| Have a good pedagogical relationship with the child | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| Invite active participation | 27 | 28 | 55 |
| Invite participation in parental activities | 15 | 26 | 41 |
| Invite participation in collaborative activities | 12 | 2 | 14 |
| Total of statements | 147 | 111 | 258 |
It is very important information to me because my son doesnât speak so much. I ask him how the day was, and (he answers) âit was good.â I am left wondering about what is happening in real life, because I canât be there watching whatâs happening, so itâs the only way to get the information. I like to get these emails. (Finnish mother, Levinthal et al., 2021, p. 9)
It is also the motivation you can see in the teacher, how dedicated they are to the class. Like, how often they change a group or school. Sometimes, if thereâs some trouble for the school to have a motivated teacher stay with the group for a long time, you can see that they change the teacher every half a year. But, sometimes, you have a teacher that stays for many years, and it makes a big difference to get to know the teacher. Also that they have a long period of time with your child, so they get to know them personally and see the growth, and also have an effect on their learning skills, and if thereâs some problems, they can address them and see the results. (Finnish father, Levinthal et al., 2021, p. 10)
In Finland, teachers are ethical professionals with both pedagogical and ethical competence. Ethical professionalism includes ethical codes and academic education. By contrast, Portuguese teachers lack an explicit ethical code; thus, contrary to their Finnish counterparts, they cannot be regarded as ethical professionals. This aspect was also evident in the interviews with Portuguese parents, where less emphasis was placed on teacher professionalism (Levinthal et al., 2021).
Both Finnish and Portuguese parents emphasized the importance of teachersâ invitations to parents to participate actively in school. However, Finnish parents highlighted collaborative activities more than did their Portuguese peers. In the current Finnish educational climate, parents are regarded as members of the school learning community and important partners in developing schools.
All the activities where my engagement is bigger involves organizing, with other parents, all these activities besides school. Itâs about social engagement with other parents. The way the teacher has managed that is really good. She took on a very big responsibility, kind of drew all the parents in. We have this small group of parents who organize this event in the spring, kevätkeikaus. Itâs kind of a big event, a lot of parents go there and all different classes that they (the school) have. So, the teacher took care of the responsibility and let us do that, and we just did it. And itâs good we have those [events] because it is not only about having a relationship with the teacher, but socializing, having this relationship with the other parents. (Finnish father, Levinthal et al., 2021, p. 11)
In Finnish schools, parental associations are a crucial element in increasing collaboration between teachers and parents as well cooperation among parents. The role of principals in school in creating the atmosphere and culture for cooperation between different parties.
3.3
Our recent qualitative multiple case study involving four school leaders from Estonia and Finland investigated the current ethical challenges principals identify in developing their schools (Tirri et al., 2021). The principals were deliberately chosen for the study, as they had been acknowledged as exemplar school leaders who were respected by their peers, collaborated with universities and were committed to developing their schools and their leadership skills. In the interviews, four topics were discussed: the intervieweeâs role as a principal, pedagogical interaction in school, curriculum development and pedagogical leadership.
As Table 6 shows, principals identified the development of the learning community as the greatest challenge in both countries. This theme included issues related to teacher collaboration, cooperation with families, student engagement, the wellbeing of learning community members, and cooperation with external partners.
Categories of current challenges identified by Finnish and Estonian principals (from Tirri et al., 2021, p. 6)
| Categories and themes | Finnish (n = 2) f |
Estonian (n = 2) f |
|---|---|---|
| Learning community development: | 17 | 26 |
| Teacher collaboration | 6 | 7 |
| Cooperation with families | 4 | 6 |
| Student engagement | 0 | 4 |
| Well-being of LC members | 3 | 6 |
| Cooperation with external members | 4 | 3 |
| Curriculum development | 16 | 14 |
| Inclusive education | 8 | 3 |
| ICT | 2 | 2 |
| Assessment | 3 | 3 |
| Phenomenon-based learning | 1 | 4 |
| Learning environment | 2 | 2 |
| Principalsâ professional development | 9 | 8 |
| Total of statements | 42 | 48 |
The challenge of teacher collaboration stems from the history of educational systems and teacher education. In Estonia and Finland, elementary school teachers and secondary school teachers are educated separately in
At first, we had this hierarchical arrogance ⦠the teacher in a high school thought that teachers in elementary schools should be paid less, not to mention the other benefits. Also, the teachers in elementary schools said, well, it is easy to be a teacher in first grade; think about how hard our work is ⦠now for four years, we have had these learning communities comprising teachers of different subjects at different levels, who meet regularly twice a month ⦠after half a year, we asked the teachers what they thought and what we found ⦠and there is much more respect for and trust in colleagues. (Kadri, Tartu, Estonia, Tirri et al., 2021, pp. 4â5)
This Estonian principal has thus been able to improve teacher collaboration in her school through frequent teacher meetings.
The male Finnish principal of a multicultural school in the next quote had attempted to create collaboration among elementary and secondary teachers for decades. Here, he describes the process and his vision for the comprehensive school.
The challenge of building a comprehensive school that started in 1996, the ideology of the comprehensive school, still divides teachers. Teachers
at elementary schools and secondary schools are still too far from each other, and we cannot build our learning community with this kind of separation. We have worked on this challenge in this school more than in many other schools, and I have not given up on this ideology and development. I can discuss many issues, and we take different ideas to the school board and discuss them, but this ideology of the comprehensive school is something on which I cannot compromise. (Jaakko, Helsinki, Finland, Tirri et al., 2021, p. 5)
This principal had tried several strategies over the years but had come to conclusion that the effective solution was changing the physical learning environment to support and even force teachers to work together.
We are very close to a situation in which we do not have a Finnish-speaking population in our school. This means that learning about the Finnish language and culture is much slower and more difficult. The knowledge does not come from inside the learning community, it comes from outside. It is very important to maintain good co-operative relationships with actors from the different cultures and groups in order to help these multicultural students in their learning. (Jaakko, Helsinki, Finland, Tirri et al., 2021, p. 6)
Even though it is important to meet the needs of multicultural families and respect different cultures, schools must also provide the necessary skills in Finnish language and cultural heritage. In multicultural schools, language skills are among the main factors defining learning trajectories from basic education to upper-secondary education and beyond among young people with immigrant backgrounds. Ensuring adequate Finnish language skills provides better educational opportunities for all students. However, supporting learning in Finnish is an issue that requires ethical sensitivity from the school community in communicating to families the importance of language learning for future educational opportunities.
I am devoted to my school, but, at the same time, I feel that I am close to burnout, and I need to take a break from this work. I am doing everything as well as I can, but I plan to take a leave of absence to learn how to build wooden boats. When I retire, I will spend time with my boat, and Iâll do some sailing. (Jaakko, Helsinki, Finland, Tirri et al., 2021, p. 8)
Burnout is a serious problem that commonly afflicts those working as teachers and in helping and serving professions (Pyhältö et al., 2021; Salmela-Aro et al., 2019). This principal demonstrates responsibility, courage and honesty in acknowledging his own limitations. In our study with exemplar principals, the moral virtues of wisdom and knowledge, humanity, courage, justice, transcendence and temperance have been identified as important in creating ethical leadership (Eisenschmidt et al., 2019). Moreover, according to the Finnish ethical code for teachers, it is important for teachers to take care of their own wellbeing in order to be able to help their students.
Questions to Reflect on by Yourself or with Your Peers
- âWhat does ethical sensitivity mean in a teacherâs work? In what kinds of situations is it required?
- âWhat kinds of challenges do students and their families from other countries and cultures present for a teacherâs work?
- âBecome familiar with the items measuring ethical sensitivity in Table 2 and ponder how well these items describe ethical sensitivity in the context of teaching, studying, and learning. You can also evaluate your own level of ethical sensitivity.
- âBecome familiar with Figure 3 and consider the cultural dependency of ethical sensitivity. How do Finland, Estonia and Iran differ in ethical sensitivity and what could explain these differences?
- âPonder how schools could enhance a sense of communality between students, teachers and parents with different cultural backgrounds.
- â
What are the current ethical challenges in schools? Reflect on and compare the challenges presented in this chapter to the ones in the schools of your country. - âWhat kind of moral conflicts can teachers experience in their work? How can ethical sensitivity help teachers find constructive solutions?
- âReflect on unfair situations in your own life related to schooling? What was the situation? Who treated you unfairly? How did the situation end? Is there something you or the people involved could have done differently?
- âWhat kind of ethical sensitivity is required from a teacher in collaboration with homes?