How teacher trainees defines Moral resilience throughout their teacher educators?

Abstract

The current study aims to present how teacher trainees' defines Moral resilience of their teacher educators while teaching processing. A total of One-hundred-and-twenty-three participants (11 men and 112 women) completed a questionnaire that has been designed especially for the current study. The questionnaire was administered online. Two major themes emerged in trainees' conceptualizations of the notion of moral resilience: The first theme connected to the place of curriculum and programs, which create knowledge during the process learning. The second related to the lecture as a model type while noticing his behaviour and his attitude as a persona to be imitate. Attaining an understanding or a conceptualization of the notion of moral resilience could serve as an instrument for constructing a model of the process of building the lecture's resilience and then integrating the individual within the broader system (the meso level) of the school, as a way of creating (macro-level)community resilience.

Keywords: Moral ResilienceTeacher Traineelecturemodelling

1. Introduction

2.Methodology

3. Findings

Teacher traineedescribes two important situations, which reflect resilience in their lecture teaching

process: The first theme relates to the place of curriculum and programs (or subject matter) and the

second related to the lecture as a model type as it reflects in his attitude and way of acting while teaching

process.

The first theme contains the choices of texts or topics that are present in classroom discourse:

whether all these are included in the syllabus or just mentioned during teaching process. In addition, are

all those discussed freely, reflecting the freedom of mind? Are chosen texts a wide range of opinion, not

just the "main stream": or could it lead critical thinking even if it creates discord awareness or cognitive

dissonance mainly due to the social climate or cultural climate. (Like 'Nacba' or peace: what is

'multiculturism', or can I talk about moral acting? etc.).

One of the teachers trainees referred to ‘the ability to be consistent and stable when presenting

your own set of principles and values… to present them to the students in a clear and concise manner…

to select the relevant and proper texts.’

 Moral resilience in the teaching process means that values are absorbed on the way, as part of the learning process, whether indicated by the teacher or by the students with the help of the teacher. Developing moral values creates a sense of confidence and the ability to cope with situations of severe failure. (Do I take a part in a demonstration? Should I help one who is considers being my enemy? (st. 36)

Moral resilience is a strong foundation related to the array of values that are accepted as social norms, positive values, which serve to organize, educate, and help us become good people or become a good citizenship. In the education process, moral resilience can be expressed either overtly or covertly through the contents of the activities.( st. 9) When you need to touch worldviews or beliefs, which may affect the emotional world, teacher

trainee should be with moral courage and with moral resilience in order to define it as an act that

involves or create a moral education. (st. 87)

This is one of the most significant components of the educational process. The development and nurturing of moral resilience creates an intelligent thinking, and containing society. The individuals who constitute this society feel confident about their worldviews. Educating for moral resilience has the power to prevent feelings of cultural inferiority. It empowers the individual's world of values and makes it possible to conduct interpersonal discussions on issues of principle, while feeling safe even if they create a cognitive dissonance (st. 42).

Some of the statements referred to the need to practice moral involvement with overt tools, such as examining the social milieu, integrating action plans into the process, engaging in dialogic teaching and learning, exposing and reflecting on processes, imparting knowledge relevant to the 21st century, and teaching about political ideologies and political theories and actions. Some examples follow.

The second theme referred to the practice of principles related to social objectives, i.e., internalizing core values while assessing the existing situation in an attempt to create an ideal reality. In terms of the range of possible functions for which moral resilience is necessary, respondents spoke of educating to develop an individual identity, a collective identity, resilience in facing moral courage, and

the ability to engage in political discourse. According to participants' statements, the practice of principles

related to a social process can take place using functional tools, which may be overt or covert (Cuban,

1992). Teachers modeling being exposed through the empowerment process undertaken by teachers

towards trainee teacher, ways of handling the crisis, optimism is broadcast, the psychological security of

having the ability to set limits and establish values.

Moral resilience is to develop and to strengthen a system that enables students to maintain reality life difficulties. That is, it provides ways to cope with situations characterized by a dissonance between what actually happens in reality, be it on the individual or on a broader social level, and the values in which we believe. The teacher should serve as a role model, emphasizing the importance of ‘being there’ and taking part in the students' moral development. The teacher's role is thus to teach students to cope with moral dilemmas and especially to educate toward a perception that ‘if a link in the chain breaks, the chain is not destroyed, but can continue to function'. (st. 22, 90)

 ‘ [Moral resilience is] adhering —at any cost— to the moral principles one considers important, without veering from them in either deeds or standards, under any condition’. Another interviewee, stated ‘Moral resilience means coping with situations in education in which one chooses not to give in or to cut corners in issues related to the moral principles and values which one upholds, even if the educational system demands otherwise…’. (st. 51)

It is important to educate students to be able to acquire for themselves a set of values that is based on beliefs and social consciousness. Students' personal growth is enabled within a framework in which the students are aware of their own moral values…, it should be the lecturer who demonstrated complex behaviors such as patience, empathy, and sometimes a little optimism can help a student who feels weakened. (st. 20)

 ‘Obviously, it's very important to demonstrate to students the kind of values that need to be followed. Students should have a toolbox of values as well as an image and a model to follow’. Another respondent stated, ‘it is up to us --I mean the teachers-- to educate a generation with values, [to raise people who] can act and think for the community and the public’. (st, 110) The ability to withstand crisis – Newman (2002) noted that among the complex array of factors that help establish mental resilience in adolescents, teachers play an important role. Teacher trainees tended to conflate mental resilience and morals. The weakness of this finding lies in the fact that the teacher trainees did not specify what they thought these values should address.

4. Discussion and Conclusion

In the discussion of the notion of moral resilience, the concept was clearly viewed as embedded in

a comprehensive framework, within which the individual is seen as part of a multifaceted society, and the

process of establishing resilience is intended to empower the individual. The framework ensures that

trainees' actions correspond to clearly defined codes, which include the development of an individual and

a group identity, as well as the development of a personal worldview. The teacher trainees expressed the

belief that only when they are able to exert their personal influences on the framework will they feels that

they can afford to be morally resilient.

(Cefai & Cavioni, 2014, p. 144) affirms the need for resilience to be a part of teacher education,

yet there are few examples of how this may occur. Participants' responses provide an indication of the

necessary qualities that their teacher must have to be morally resilient. Such one must act consistently,

demonstrate stability, be a capable decision maker, adhere to a comprehensive set of morals and values,

and occasionally exhibit moral courage. They also noted that the environment plays an important role,

and that teachers should be able to function within the regular framework of activities and factors that are

typically involved in the educational endeavour. In Israel, teachers are provided with clear ethical

guidelines; nonetheless, in cases in which certain moral behaviours constitute a clear risk (Baratz &

Reingold, 2013) , some teachers might not dare to adhere to their principles and values if they clash with

those dictated by the social or the organizational environment. The current political circumstances and

present social climate in Israel influence the building of teacher training programs and the view of the

lecturers which in turn have great significance in the process of empowering moral strength by their

students .Dedicating an entire course or several segments of courses, such as philosophy of education or

ethical education, to the issue of moral courage and moral resilience can help become more aware of the

experiences

Teachers' resilience is motivated by their educational goals and their moral values, although these

do erode in the course of the individual teacher's interface with typical workaday procedures (Edwards,

2011). In Israel, the Ministry of Education's Director General Code of By-Laws issues the guidelines

describing teachers' professional standards periodically. In these publications, the gap between the

teacher's ability to act with moral courage and to still keep the regulation is derived from moral resilience.

As noted, resilience is affected by the teachers' personal biography, and by life and work circumstances.

The moral resilience of a school team can be attributed to a strong cultural-organisational core. The

framework defines the mutual expectations and the behavioural patterns that are used in various

situations, according to which particular events are perceived as significant. This always what guides

decision-making (Gu & Day, 2013). The Australian National Curriculum requires teachers to teach

Personal and Social Capabilities (ACARA, 2012) such as self-awareness, self-management social

awareness, contributing to civil society, advocacy for and service to others, understanding relationships

and social management, decision making, conflict resolution and negotiation, building and maintaining

relationships, leadership. Such skills are also widely acknowledged in the broader resilience literature

(Beltman et al., 2011). Teachers are expected to teach these capabilities both in classroom lessons and in

daily interactions with students, colleagues and members of the broader community, yet such capabilities

are not specifically addressed in the standards for teacher education programs. Undoubtedly, by

developing personal moral resilience, teachers-in-training will have the ability later on in their careers to

exert their personal influence on the educational endeavour. Where moral culture and moral discourse

exist and integrated into informal work routines, such discourse can lead to the development of shared

beliefs and perceptions.

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