A multifocal approach to study pedagogical ethics in school settings

Abstract

This paper advocates the argument that philosophical and empirical modes of inquiry are seldom brought together to gain a better understanding of pedagogical ethics in the natural settings of school life. Here, it is hoped that this kind of combination provides interpretative lenses for the deliberation of pedagogical practices. The paper aims to shift focus to the scene where the conditions and contingencies of pedagogical ethics may be found. This means exploring day‐to‐day details of pedagogical encounters to see what they might offer in putting forth an understanding of pedagogical ethics. This paper uses three interpretations from philosophy and ethics. It focuses on the perspectives of pedagogical purposes, obligations, and situations, together with their empirical interpretations of the ethic of ideals, the ethic of rights and duties, and the ethic of character and will. It shows how abstract philosophical theories can be translated into real‐world ethics in education and how these reference points can help teachers in their practical ethical reflection.