The Impact of Religious Beliefs on Professional Ethics: A Case Study of a New Teacher

Oct 15, 2026

A case study examines how a math and science teacher in a private religious school experiences and navigates ethical issues in day-to-day practice. Using a Freirean ethical framework, the analysis focuses on tensions between the teacher’s personal religious convictions and the school’s expectations, including efforts to prevent undue influence on students’ developing beliefs and attention to the inherent violence of schooling. The case supports expanding professional-ethics discussions beyond codes and regulations into teachers’ lived social contexts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Ethical implications in teaching

Values, beliefs, and relational practice

Religious beliefs and gaps in the literature

The Impact of Religious Beliefs on Professional Ethics: A Case Study of a New Teacher Sarah Elizabeth Barrett York University Abstract This case study of a math and science teacher in a private religious school looks at the impact of a teacher’s religious beliefs on her experience of engaging with ethical issues in her practice. A Freirean ethical framework is used to analyze her struggles with differences between her own personal religious convictions and those of the school in which she teaches, avoiding undue influence on her students’ developing beliefs, and the inherent violence of schooling. This case provides an example of ways in which discussions with teachers about professional ethics might be broadened beyond codes and regulations to the everyday embodied, social milieu in which they work. Keywords: teacher, beliefs, professional ethics, Freirean ethical framework, case study, religion Résumé Cette étude de cas d’une professeure de mathématique et de science dans une école confessionnelle privée porte sur l’impact des croyances religieuses d’une enseignante sur les questions éthiques qu’elle aborde avec ses élèves. Un cadre éthique inspiré de Freire est utilisé pour analyser ses dilemmes face aux différences entre ses propres convictions Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 38:3 (2015)©2015 Canadian Society for the Study of Education/ Société canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) religieuses et celles de l’école et ses efforts pour éviter une influence indue sur l’évolution des croyances de ses élèves et la violence inhérente à la scolarisation. Cette étude de cas montre comment les discussions avec les enseignants au sujet de l’éthique professionnelle pourraient aller au-delà des codes et règlements en vue de prendre en compte le milieu social dans lequel ils travaillent au quotidien. Mots-clés : enseignant, croyances, éthique professionnelle, cadre éthique inspiré de Freire, étude de cas, religion Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 38:3 (2015) [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) Introduction As a helping profession, teaching is infused with actions and interactions that have ethical implications. Teachers are expected to act as moral exemplars for their students (Joseph & Efron, 1993) . Yet there are few opportunities for teachers to engage in discussions about ethics—whether in pre-service education or in professional development activities after certification (Boon, 2011; Campbell, 2008) . Those discussions that do occur tend to focus on procedures and legalities which are not necessarily engaging issues that arise in teachers’ day-to-day relationships with students, parents, and colleagues. Since professional ethics are not only cognitive but embodied and emotional, contextualized and relational (N. H. Smith, 1997), in this article, I pay attention to teachers’ experiences with professional ethics as one way to deepen and broaden the conversation. This case study of a math and science teacher aims to use a Freirean (1998) ethical framework to holistically analyze her experience of engaging with ethical issues in her practice. Teachers’ day-to-day lives are grounded by a foundation of values and beliefs, which manifests in their relationships with students and colleagues, assessment practices, and curricular choices (Higgins, 2011). This web of beliefs and values that they bring to their practice originates in both their professional and personal lives and is not necessarily compartmentalized based on the role they are playing at any given time (Barrett, 2013) . Rather, epistemological, axiological, and ontological beliefs about how to determine what is true, what is right (and wrong) and proper, and what is human nature and the nature of existence are fundamental beliefs about the world that teachers (like all of us) use as a framework for their experiences (Fisher, 2013) . Beliefs about religi

FAQs

What is the document’s central focus?

It explores how a teacher’s religious beliefs affect her engagement with professional ethical issues in a private religious school setting.

How is the ethical analysis conducted?

It uses a Freirean ethical framework to examine the teacher’s struggles with differences between her personal convictions and the school’s beliefs.

What does the study suggest about discussing professional ethics?

Discussions should move beyond codes and regulations to include teachers’ everyday embodied and social contexts in which ethics is lived.

Oct 15, 2026

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