Pre-service teachers’ ethical role construction in China

ABSTRACT This study examines pre-service teachers’ construction of ethical roles in teaching practice in China. This study finds that three major changes emerged in pre-service teachers’ understanding of teacher ethics after teaching practice: viewing caring as an interactive relationship between teachers and students, emphasising teachers’ sacrifice, and highlighting authority in the teacher-student relationship. This study supplements the extant literature by highlighting university and teaching schools’ roles in facilitating pre-service teachers in-depth interaction with pupils and teachers to facilitate their moral learning through fieldwork.