In their work, teachers have to reconcile students' varying needs, school practices and resources and the views of guardians and other professionals. The right course of action is not always clear, and teachers may be forced to act against their own values. Such ethically challenging situations can cause stress and reduce the meaningfulness of work.
A study by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health examined ethically challenging situations encountered by teachers, their connection to working conditions and ways to reduce ethical burden. The study utilised the Kunta10 survey data from 2018–2024 and interviews with teachers and principals.
"High-quality education requires teachers that feel well, but sometimes schools do not have enough means to deal with ethical distress. That is why it is important to pay more attention to identifying and dealing with ethically challenging situations," says Maarit Kauppi, Research Manager from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.
Ethically challenging situations are not distributed evenly
According to the Kunta10 surveys, having to act in ways that go against one’s own values became more common in all examined teacher groups in 2018-2022. In 2024, the shares were slightly lower than in 2022, but still higher than in 2020 and 2018. Between 2018 and 2024, the relative growth was the greatest among class teachers, with the share increasing from 11 per cent to 15 per cent.
However, having to act against one's own values was most common among special needs teachers: in 2024, 17 per cent reported acting against their own values at least weekly.
There were also differences according to age and school district. The youngest teachers reflect on ethically challenging situations more often than other age groups. On the other hand, teachers working in socio-economically weaker areas felt more often that they had to act in ways that violated rules and norms as well as their own values compared with those working in schools in the socio-economically strongest areas.
Of all working conditions, concerns about increasing workload were most strongly linked to behaviour that violates personal values. Teachers concerned about the increase in workload were more than twice as likely to act against their own values as those who did not have such concerns. Work stress, changes to the work that were perceived as negative and limited opportunities to influence changes were also linked to behaviour that challenged rules and norms as well as the teacher's own values.
The demands of work and practical opportunities do not always meet
Based on the interviews, ethical distress was particularly strongly linked with situations in which the teacher was unable to provide the pupil with the support they assessed as necessary.
For example, if several pupils need a lot of help at the same time, the teacher will have to decide who to give their time to. Helping one person can mean that others get less attention. This can lead to a feeling of inadequacy.
Disagreements with the guardians can also put the teacher in a difficult situation. For example, the teacher may assess that the pupil needs support, but the guardian sees the situation differently. In this case, the teacher may not be able to act in accordance with their own professional judgement.
According to the study, ethical distress is related to broader changes in teaching and its objectives. The teacher is expected to take the individual needs of pupils into account even better and help everyone to achieve their best. However, work practices, structures and resources do not always correspond to these changed requirements, which can create conflicts between the goals of the work and the practical possibilities.
"Stressful situations are often caused by situations that an individual teacher cannot solve. That is why there needs to be time to discuss ethically challenging situations together as well as opportunities to develop work practices. Identifying the causes of ethical distress helps in finding solutions that make the daily life of the entire work community easier," says Anna-Leena Kurki, Senior Specialist at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.
Read the guide
- The method for managing ethical distress in teaching work developed in the research project helps school communities identify stressful situations and find shared solutions to them.
- Guide (in Finnish): Eettinen kuormitus hallintaan opetustyössä
Taking control of teachers’ ethical distress project (OPEKU)
- The project investigated ethically challenging situations and ethical distress among teachers and developed a method for processing them collectively.
- The quantitative survey was based on Kunta10 data from 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024. The study also utilised interviews with teachers and principals as well as workshops.
- The project was funded by the Finnish Work Environment Fund.
- Project page (ttl.fi): Taking control of teachers’ ethical distress
- Research report (in Finnish): Opettajien eettinen kuormitus haltuun! OPEKU-hankkeen loppuraportti
Further information
- Maarit Kauppi, Research Manager, The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, maarit.kauppi [at] ttl.fi, +358 30 474 3058
- Anna-Leena Kurki, Senior Specialist, The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, anna-leena.kurki [at] ttl.fi, +358 30 474 2958
