Turkish teachers' beliefs regarding moral psychology and implicit moral education: a case study

This thesis reports a mixed method case study of Turkish teachers’ and trainee teachers’ beliefs and attitudes regarding aspects of moral education and moral psychology, and the development of these beliefs and attitudes through teacher training and experience. Both internationally and in Turkey it is generally agreed that teachers are not well enough equipped to carry out moral education. This thesis explores a philosophical argument for why understanding the psychology of moral development could be valuable for teachers in informing their engagement with explicit and implicit moral education. A cross-sectional sample of participants was investigated using a mix of quantitative and qualitative approaches to analyse beliefs and attitudes relevant to moral education. The results indicate that Turkish teachers and trainee teachers are not equipped with the relevant set of knowledge and skills to consciously foster students’ moral development; neither teacher training nor teaching experience appear to influence the teachers’ belief development. However, teachers and trainee teachers are willing and interested both to engage with moral education, and to receive training relevant to conducting moral education. Key findings regarding teachers’ beliefs and attitudes concerning conducting moral education include an inclination towards providing pupils with a scaffold to foster moral development, rather than dogmatic imposition of a certain set of values and virtues; and an inclination towards creating a pluralistic moral environment in the school that fosters compassion and cooperation. Based on the understandings gained from the reviewed literature and analysed data, recommendations are made regarding how to improve ITE programmes with respect to preparing teachers to engage with moral education.

Grantor dc:publisher

Oxford Brookes University

Year dc:date

2017

Author dc:creator

• Bridge, Oliver B.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Butt, Graham
• Arthur, Linet
• Aldridge, David

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language

en

DOI dc:identifier

https://doi.org/10.24384/000557

OAI identifier oai:identifier

tle:3e24d366-8234-4632-9ce7-a17aefaaa71f:d6bd9758-527a-46cd-bfe2-c433766e8fca:1