Exploring teachers' social-emotional competencies to navigate ethical dilemma discussions

This study aimed to evaluate how teachers employed social-emotional competencies when discussing ethical dilemmas in various school contexts. In the first phase, the authors examined 20 scenarios arising from the day-to-day activities of the teachers and role-playing exercises they participated in during an annual course. During the second phase, we observed how social-emotional competencies were used during role-playing activities to resolve ethical dilemmas. There is evidence of individualistic and interpersonal aspects of emotional and social behaviour in this qualitative study, which indicates the application of social-emotional competencies. It can be argued that social-emotional competencies are theoretically justified when used by teachers to navigate ethical dilemma discussions. In practical terms, these findings can help to restructure social-emotional learning processes with simulations. Research limitations and future directions are also discussed.