Teacher ethical knowleThe Role of Knowledge And Ethical Beliefs In The Model of Teacher's Professional Qualifications (TPACK) dge

To gain legitimacy, schools must always align with the ethical values upheld by society. As societal values encompass more than just academic and scientific advancements, schools are tasked with instilling these ethical principles in their students. In this process, teachers assume a crucial role in fostering students' ethical development. The success of not only the educational system but also any political and social framework relies heavily on the quality of teachers within a society. Today's schools and universities bear the significant responsibility of equipping students with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate the complexities of the future ethically. Therefore, fulfilling this pivotal role demands that teachers possess professional knowledge and qualifications.
Content knowledge (CK) refers to the teacher's knowledge about the content(s) that he/she teaches to the students. Pedagogical knowledge (PK) can be defined as a teacher's in-depth knowledge of educational processes and teaching-learning methods, including classroom management and evaluation. Technology knowledge (TK) refers to the teacher's knowledge of all kinds of classic and modern technologies and how to use them in teaching to make them more effective. Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) includes the teacher's knowledge to identify the student's previous prerequisites for learning new topics and which educational approaches are more compatible with the lesson’s subject. Technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) is the knowledge of the components and capacities of the existing technologies that the teacher can use in education and how the teaching that the teacher provides to the students may change due to the use of technology. Technological content knowledge (TCK) deals with the mutual relationship between content and educational technologies. Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) can be viewed as overarching knowledge and it refers to how technology facilitates students' learning, how technology solves students' learning problems, how students may create new knowledge, and what makes learning a lesson difficult or easy for students.
Between 2009 and 2019, the TPACK framework has been the subject of extensive academic exploration, resulting in over 1200 journal articles and book chapters, 315 theses and dissertations, and 28 books. The TPACK framework consists of three interconnected circles (CK, PK, and TK) with an additional outer dotted circle. Despite efforts to refine and re-envision the model, it has remained relatively unchanged since its inception in 2009. It's worth noting that the outer dotted circle, although present in the framework, does not represent a distinct type of knowledge.
According to Mishra and Koehler, the outer dotted circle pertains to the context within which the framework operates. This context includes the school subject matter, students' backgrounds, and the technologies available for teaching, all of which are described as "context-bound" elements that influence TPACK. However, despite the significance of the "context" in the TPACK framework, this aspect has not been adequately emphasized in previous studies.
Furthermore, previous research has highlighted the wide-ranging nature of the context, encompassing various concepts from teachers' epistemological beliefs to classroom and institutional resources. Understanding and considering this multifaceted context are crucial for a comprehensive analysis of TPACK and its practical implications.
The TPACK framework is a comprehensive model of teacher knowledge; however, it does not encompass teacher ethical knowledge. The ethical knowledge of teachers forms the foundation for their behaviors and interactions in the classroom. Given their significant influence on students' thinking, motivation, and knowledge, teachers wield extraordinary power in shaping their students' personalities. As role models, teachers play a crucial role in the lives of their students, and they are expected to serve as positive influences and examples to follow.
Ethics in education means providing equal educational opportunities to all students regardless of nationality, gender, ideological differences, or mental disabilities. Attention to ethical principles in teaching can bring respect, tolerance, civil relations, and interaction based on predetermined rules among students. Ethical knowledge is the awareness of the inherent characteristic between the principles of social and individual ethics. A teacher's possession of these principles allows him/her to display the values ​​of personal and social ethics, which include a sense of right and wrong, respectful behavior toward others, objectivity, patience, and compassion.
The primary purpose of this study was to representing teachers’ ethical knowledge in the TPACK conceptual framework. This study is a qualitative research based on the phenomenology method. A total of 13 experts were sampled using the purposive sampling method. All the participants are experts and authorship in teacher training (having at least one academic work including a research project, peer-reviewed journal article, or book) and having more than ten years of teaching experience in different educational settings. The study was carried out in 2022. After setting up the interview protocol, initial coordination was started with the participants. Some agreed to in-person interviews, while others preferred online interviews using google meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After interviewing all 13 participants using a semi-structured interview and preliminary analysis of the data, the saturation of the resulting data and the adequacy of the interview were determined. The data were analyzed using the thematic analysis technique and based on the method proposed by Attride-Stirling (2001) as one of the conventional coding methods in thematic analysis.
The research findings indicate that despite being a relatively comprehensive theoretical framework, TPACK has overlooked teachers' ethical knowledge. Interviewees highlighted that Mishra and Koehler's (2006) model, which includes CK, PK, TK, PCK, TPK, and TCK, should also encompass ethical knowledge (EK) and Technological Pedagogical Content Ethical Knowledge (TPCEK). These additional dimensions are deemed essential for enhancing teacher professional effectiveness, particularly within the cultural context of the country. Including ethical knowledge and TPCEK in the TPACK framework would provide a more holistic approach to understanding and supporting teachers in their roles as educators and ethical decision-makers.
The interviewees firmly believe that teaching possesses an ethical and normative nature, making it a profession that demands teachers to embody various characteristics and virtues. These virtues encompass ethical, intellectual, professional, and civic aspects. Moral virtues, for instance, encompass traits like sincerity, honesty, respect, justice, fairness, courage, decisiveness, self-control, and faithfulness.
Regarding intellectual virtues, qualities such as humor, critical thinking, creativity, reflection, and resourcefulness are deemed essential. In the realm of professional characteristics, virtues like a genuine passion for the work, punctuality, scientific originality, authority, and a solid professional reputation, along with a sense of professional responsibility and the ability to create an effective learning environment and communicate professionally are highly valued.
Furthermore, in the domain of civic virtues, features such as care and empathy, loyalty and commitment, openness, a sense of social responsibility, and a willingness to serve others are considered crucial virtues for teachers. Embodying these diverse virtues is seen as integral to being an effective and ethical educator, contributing positively to the development and growth of their students.
In conclusion, the research revealed that although the TPACK model is relatively comprehensive, it lacks consideration for teachers' ethics, beliefs, and their impact on teaching effectiveness. As a result, it is essential for both practitioners and researchers to address the ethical dimension of teachers more prominently. The findings hold significant implications for policymakers involved in teacher training programs.