Introduction

“Educational action, in so far as it is a free act, like other free human acts, is a moral action.”

(Fuentes, 2020, p. 21)

As Adela Cortina puts it, the social and moral importance of professions lies, first of all, in the specific good that each one provides to society. In this regard, the author includes teaching among the ten key words in deontological ethics (Cortina & Conill, 2000).

But what specific good does the teaching profession provide to society? According to Ibáñez-Martín (2017), this good would be promoting the full development of the personality of the educator. Achieving full development requires not only the cultivation of intelligence, but also the development of moral capacities, civic virtues and ethical values (Fuentes, 2020, p. 48). In this way, the academic dimension of learning must be developed in harmony with the human, cultural and civic dimension, taking into account that education is a relational process between people (ibid).

Therefore, the teaching role cannot be limited to the effective transmission of a certain knowledge, but must help and promote the full development of the student as a person through the teaching of the subject being taught. A teacher who aspires to become not only a good, competent practitioner, but also an ethically good practitioner must be both an expert in the content and teaching of their subject as well as a professional who understands that ethical aspects are part of their everyday life and a key component in the construction of their professional identity and the excellence of their profession (Hortal, 2002).

If the purpose of education is to practise the pedagogical good, ethics must be one of the main factors driving the excellence in teaching. The ethical shift in education posed by Ibáñez-Martín (2015) –which has been in place in Spain especially since the 1990s– has to do with the adoption of a conceptual framework for education and the role of the educator, removed from the dominant scientific and technical paradigm, and where commitment to ethics plays a significant role in responding to the challenges of a complex, liquid and uncertain world (Bauman, 2003).

In this process, we refer to Van Manen’s (1998) concept of pedagogical tact, a teaching proposal that sees the educational act from a broad perspective. This process involves preparing the child or young person for life, through their growth and maturity as a person in their cognitive, affective, and social dimensions. According to Van Manen, the tact or pedagogical thoughtfulness of the teacher is important for building the learner’s character. This tact is expressed in teachers’ attitudes and behaviours, as well as in the body and verbal language used in their teaching practice. Therefore, the use of pedagogical tact promotes the emotional and ethical dimensions of the educational process.

Accordingly, teacher training must emphasize not only preparation for the know-how –focused on the theoretical, instructive and instrumental dimensions of teaching practice– but also for the know-how-to-be, which has to do with cultivating the affective, attitudinal and moral dimensions of the future teacher (Jordán, 2015).

This teaching material, based on testimonials from in-service teachers, aims to have students reflect on the ethical principles that guide the professional practice of teaching, while exploring solutions to possible critical incidents or ethical dilemmas common to educational action.

The interviews are structured around six axes that aim to address some of the key issues of the ethical orientation of educational action. These axes are as follows:

Before reading the interviews, it is important that you learn about the contextualization of each of these axes.