ProEthica: Advancing Teacher Candidate Ethics Assessment from Theory to Practice in Christian Contexts

In recent decades, accreditation standards have required teacher education programs to establish and implement dispositions that define and assess the demonstration of affective beliefs and values integrated within the teacher preparation process.  The 2015 publication of the Model Code of Ethics for Educators (MCEE) sought to unify the application and assessment of dispositions relating to integrity and social responsibility.  In response, Educational Testing Service (ETS) developed an online program, ProEthica , to challenge individual teacher candidates and school leaders to explore potential-risk scenarios in an effort to produce self-reflection when making ethical decisions.  ProEthica is currently being embraced as a licensure component by some state departments of education.  Researchers conducted a pilot program, integrating ProEthica as a component in graduate and undergraduate foundations classes in the spring of 2017, to assess the value of using ProEthica as a practical extension of the university’s dispositions.  Analysis of the data reported ProEthica principles and indicators for leadership and for pre-service candidates, though written from secular ethical and moral perspectives, to be generally aligned with the Christian university’s worldview and dispositional values and beliefs.