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How to write a teacher personal statement

What experience do you have, are you engaged in teaching theory and research, are you up to date on safeguarding statutory guidance, what are your skills and qualities, how can you contribute to wider school life, search for roles.

Your personal statement is your first opportunity to show the school you’re a great fit for the job, and gets you closer to being shortlisted for an interview. The more you show how your skills and interests match the school’s ethos and values, the better. We’ve spoken to a range of teachers to get their top tips for success.

Schools want to hear about your trainee experience with different subjects, key stages, types of school, and working with a range of pupils.

Think about your approach to teaching, how you keep pupils engaged, and how you communicate with different kinds of people (children, staff, parents and carers). Ensure you provide evidence for how you have improved student engagement and built positive relationships with pupils.

Schools will be interested in your approach to behaviour management, so think about your go-to strategies.

Think about any research that has affected your teaching practice. Explain what has worked well and if it didn’t, what you learnt.

You need to demonstrate your awareness of the importance of safeguarding and the requirements of Keeping Children Safe in Education . Include any examples of how you worked with a Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Are you a well-organised, confident, and motivated teacher? Say it, and provide examples! Schools are looking for great communicators, team players and relationship builders. Make sure you say how you create a positive learning environment, and consider skills like time management, organisation, and flexibility. Schools will also want to know how you overcome challenges.

Set yourself apart by showing how your hobbies and achievements could contribute to the wider school community. Could you run an after school club or organise school trips?

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Teacher Training Personal Statement Examples

What is a teacher training personal statement?

The teacher training personal statement is your opportunity to let training providers know about your qualities, skills and expertise, and why you want to teach.

While your application form briefly outlines your qualifications, skills and work experience, your teaching personal statement is where your personality shines through.

Take your time with it, be prepared to receive constructive feedback and write a few drafts before you send it off.

How do I write a good teacher training personal statement?

To help you write a successful teacher training personal statement, we recommend you include:

• use examples to back everything up, based on your teaching experience so far
• tailor your personal statement according to the age group you wish to teach
• write using concise English, using first person terms such as 'my' and 'I'
• be original and honest - don't embellish the truth or lie outright
• avoid clichés and general statements, such as 'since a young age' or 'I've always wanted to be a teacher'
• demonstrate your passion and enthusiasm for teaching.

You have up to 4,000 characters to write a memorable opening, middle and conclusion.

Don't waste your valuable space on writing about things that are already on your UCAS form elsewhere, such as your qualifications.

What should I include in my teacher training personal statement?

When planning out your personal statement, ask yourself what it is your training providers are looking for. Make sure your statement answers the following questions:

• Why do I want to teach? - show that you know about the challenges and rewards of teaching, and remember that everything has its ups and downs. Maybe talk about any lessons you have observed/taught, what went well and how you would have improved on them. Discuss teaching styles used and the use of technology in the classroom.
• Why do I want to teach this age group/at this level? - what appeals to you, and what experience do you have teaching these students/children?
• What are my strengths? - include the relevance of your degree and subject knowledge.
• What experience do I have? - include any experience you have of volunteering with children, such as teaching a sports team, youth work or working at a summer camp? Give examples of how this helpd develop your teaching skills.
• What personal skills/abilities do I have? - these might include research, creativity, time management, IT skills, problem solving, managing people, organisational skills, listening skills, leading or working in a team. To strengthen your application, make sure you back everything up with examples.
• Are there are any location restrictions? - if you don't currently live in the UK, why do you want to study here? Are you willing to move away from your current home town/city for your degree?

You only have up to 47 lines (4,000 characters including spaces) in which to persuade your chosen initial teacher training (ITT) providers to offer you an interview. The statement must be concise, enthusiastic and sell your potential to be a successful teacher.

For more help and advice on what to write in your teacher training personal statement, please see:

• Personal Statement Editing Services
• Personal Statement Tips From A Teacher
• Analysis Of A Personal Statement
• The 15th January UCAS Deadline: 4 Ways To Avoid Missing It
• Personal Statement FAQs
• Personal Statement Timeline
• 10 Top Personal Statement Writing Tips
• What To Do If You Miss The 15th January UCAS Deadline.

What is a teacher training degree?

Teacher training degrees combine the study of curriculum subjects with learning teaching techniques and putting these into practice during hands-on school placements. The course leads to QTS (qualified teacher status) to enable you to teach in a school or college.

How long is a teacher training course?

To teach in England and Wales you need to gain QTS. You will obtain this on an ITT programme, which could be school or university-based and takes approximately one year to complete.

How do I become a teacher with a degree?

To teach as a qualified teacher in England, you'll need qualified teacher status (QTS). If you already have a degree, you can complete a postgraduate teacher training course to achieve this. Additionally, you'll need to have a GCSE at grade C/4 in maths and English, as well as science if you want to teach primary.

Can I train to be a teacher without a degree?

Unfortunately no - you cannot become a teacher without a degree.

But if you are an undergraduate or have a degree in a different subject than what you want to teach, there are options to help you get into a teaching career.

Will I get paid for teacher training?

There are three types of funding available for teacher training - depending on your circumstances, you could receive all three:

• Tax-free bursary or scholarship.
• Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan.
• Extra financial support if you're a parent, have an adult dependant or a disability.

Further information

For more tips and advice on teacher training personal statements, please see:

• GetIntoTeaching
• The Complete University Guide

Related resources

Teacher training interview questions.

Find out more

Applying For Teacher Training Courses

6 Personal Statement Writing Tips

How To Apply To University

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Teach.com / Online Education / Education Degrees / Online Master of Arts in Teaching Programs (MAT) / Applying for Your Master’s / How to Write a Personal Statement

Brainstorming

Before you start outlining your statement, ask yourself a few questions to get an idea of what you’ll need to include. Jot down each of the following questions and leave some space to answer them.

• Why do I want to be a teacher?
• How should I address my academic record?
• How can my experiences enhance my application?
• Who is my audience?

Now take a few minutes and come up with some answers to these questions. Don’t spend too much time on this step; just write down your general thoughts. Once you do that, you will be ready to dive in and start writing your personal statement.

The Introduction

Your introduction needs to grab the reader’s attention at once. Remember that they are most likely staring at a pile of applications, and yours will be one of many they’ll read in this sitting. You need to be memorable right from the start. Follow this general form for a solid intro.

• HOOK:  Grab the admissions officer’s attention with a broad, but strong statement about the teaching profession.
• LINE:  Write two to three sentences that develop that idea and narrow it down to focus on you.
• SINKER:  Deliver your thesis. This is where you state specifically why you want to study education at their school.

Begin with a short summary of your educational background. Do not turn this into a resume; just briefly give an overview of your studies in both your major (English, math, etc.) and in your education concentration. If you have any inconsistencies in your academic record, this is where you should address them. Do not give excuses, but if there are reasons why you did poorly in an area, state them here.

The second body paragraph is where you get to tell your story. Why do you want to become a teacher? What inspires you about this profession? What type of teacher do you see yourself becoming? How did your student teaching experience inspire you to continue on this path? Anecdotes are best, but don’t get carried away. Keep it concise and to the point.

Once you have explained who you are and what your professional goals will be, the third body paragraph should explain why you think you are a good fit for that particular school. Hopefully you did some research before applying, and you have some concrete reasons for choosing this college. Tell them your reasons, but don’t go overboard with platitudes. They know what awards they have won and where they rank in the U.S. News college rankings. Be honest and explain what attracted you to their program of study and what you hope to get out of it.

In order to ensure the clarity of your work, each body paragraph should be formatted the same. This way the reader will be able to quickly read without losing track of the point. After the first body paragraph, begin each subsequent paragraph with a transition phrase or sentence, and then provide a clear topic sentence. Support that topic sentence with solid evidence. Finally, provide examples to back up that evidence.

The Conclusion

Conclusions are hard, and they are hard for a reason. Ideally, you have made your case in the body of your personal statement, so you understandably ask yourself, “What else can I say?” Try one of these strategies:

• Widen the focus a bit and validate your thesis without being redundant.
• Project where you see yourself in 10 years after completing your degree and becoming a successful teacher.
• Reaffirm your passion for your subject area.

However you decide to close, do not fall back to your middle school days and simply restate your case in the conclusion. Take some time to craft a closing that will leave them with an overall positive impression.

The Nuts and Bolts of Academic Writing

It is certainly worth noting a few of the technical aspects of writing your personal statement. Many programs will have specific items they want you to cover in your statement. Be sure you have carefully read and then answered their questions. Use a basic font like Times New Roman or Calibri and either a 10- or 12-point font. Always use 1-inch margins and single space your document. The general suggested length is 500 to 1,000 words. Don’t feel like you have to hit the word limit, but don’t only get halfway there either.

More from  Applying for your Masters in Teaching: The Complete Guide

• Tes Institute

How to write a teacher training personal statement or Initial Teacher Training application

Teacher training personal statements: the dos and don'ts

An Initial Teacher Training (ITT) or teacher training personal statement is a key part of any initial teacher training application – it's your chance to sell yourself.

Your personal statement gives teacher training providers an opportunity to find out more about you – your motivations for pursuing a career in teaching, your reflections on any school experience you have and the skills, competencies, values and attitudes that you bring to the table. What can you offer teaching? What will make you an outstanding teacher who will inspire, engage and challenge pupils? 

A teacher training personal statement shouldn’t be a list of all your jobs or qualifications – those are set out elsewhere in your application. Nor should it simply be a factual account of what you have observed or what you did in a classroom during your school experience. While it's important to give a brief context of this, it's much more important to explain what you learnt during your time in school; skills you developed and reflections on what you observed or did. Teacher training providers or ITT partnership schools need to see that you have thought about your experience carefully.

It's also worth reiterating how important it is to check your spelling and grammar. You're going to be in charge of educating the next generation – you must have strong written communication skills.

Examples can be a great way of demonstrating what you have learnt

Steer away from overusing general teaching related statements such as “I’ve always wanted to work with children”, especially when writing a primary school teacher training personal statement. Obviously, teacher training providers want to see that you have an interest in working with children but this can be demonstrated through your reflections on what you learnt during any school or similar experience and what you found rewarding about the work.

Examples can be a great way of demonstrating what you have learnt. Think about the skills that  make a good teacher  and give examples of any relevant projects you've worked on or any children you've worked with (always remember to anonymise the people involved). What was challenging about the situation, what did you learn and what were the outcomes you achieved?

By all means draw on skills you've gained elsewhere, maybe in a different career field or in your own education or family life. If you've overcome obstacles or challenges that you believe show your resilience and adaptability, draw on that experience to demonstrate how you would handle the pressurised environment of teaching and working in a school.

Your teacher training personal statement should be coherent and well-structured

If you hold a non-subject specific degree and you know you have some gaps in your subject knowledge, it’s a good idea to mention this in your teaching training personal statement but to also offer the provider a solution. You can demonstrate that you've done some research and you've already considered a solution to this challenge by mentioning that you would like to do a  subject knowledge enhancement  (SKE)  course prior to starting your teacher training to bring your knowledge up to the level you need to teach.

Find out more about about SKE

There are plenty of guides on how to write a personal statement for teacher training which outline the basics, but the most important thing remains your own personal reasons for applying. Be clear about what motivates you. A personal statement that suggests you haven't thought through your reasons for going into teaching will not help your application to succeed. Teacher training providers are less likely to be concerned about someone who has had a diverse career but is now committed to teaching than someone who says they have always wanted to teach but can’t give clear reasons why. If you’re not currently based in the UK, include reasons why you want to pursue your teaching career here. And last but definitely not least, your personal statement should be coherent and well-structured.

In summary:

• Draw on your experiences  (especially teaching experience) to show what you've learnt and what you will bring to the teaching profession
• Evidence your skills , competencies and values, with relevant examples if possible
• Be clear about your motivations  for going into teaching
• Make sure your statement is  coherent and accurate
• Don’t copy!  Your statement should be entirely your own work; do not copy online examples.

Good luck! Further advice from UCAS can be  found here .

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• Teacher training

Center for Teaching

Teaching statements.

Print Version

• What is a teaching statement?
• What purposes does the teaching statement serve?
• What does a teaching statement include?

General Guidelines

• Reflection questions to help get you started
• Exercises to help get you started
• Evaluating your teaching statement
• Further resources

What is a Teaching Statement?

A Teaching Statement is a purposeful and reflective essay about the author’s teaching beliefs and practices. It is an individual narrative that includes not only one’s beliefs about the teaching and learning process, but also concrete examples of the ways in which he or she enacts these beliefs in the classroom. At its best, a Teaching Statement gives a clear and unique portrait of the author as a teacher, avoiding generic or empty philosophical statements about teaching.

What Purposes does the Teaching Statement Serve?

The Teaching Statement can be used for personal, professional, or pedagogical purposes. While Teaching Statements are becoming an increasingly important part of the hiring and tenure processes, they are also effective exercises in helping one clearly and coherently conceptualize his or her approaches to and experiences of teaching and learning. As Nancy Van Note Chism, Professor Emerita of Education at IUPUI observes, “The act of taking time to consider one’s goals, actions, and vision provides an opportunity for development that can be personally and professionally enriching. Reviewing and revising former statements of teaching philosophy can help teachers to reflect on their growth and renew their dedication to the goals and values that they hold.”

What does a Teaching Statement Include?

A Teaching Statement can address any or all of the following:

• Your conception of how learning occurs
• A description of how your teaching facilitates student learning
• A reflection of why you teach the way you do
• The goals you have for yourself and for your students
• How your teaching enacts your beliefs and goals
• What, for you , constitutes evidence of student learning
• The ways in which you create an inclusive learning environment
• Your interests in new techniques, activities, and types of learning

“If at all possible, your statement should enable the reader to imagine you in the classroom, teaching. You want to include sufficient information for picturing not only you in the process of teaching, but also your class in the process of learning.” – Helen G. Grundman, Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement

• Make your Teaching Statement brief and well written . While Teaching Statements are probably longer at the tenure level (i.e. 3-5 pages or more), for hiring purposes they are typically 1-2 pages in length.
• Use narrative , first-person approach. This allows the Teaching Statement to be both personal and reflective.
• Be sincere and unique. Avoid clichés, especially ones about how much passion you have for teaching.
• Make it specific rather than abstract. Ground your ideas in 1-2 concrete examples , whether experienced or anticipated. This will help the reader to better visualize you in the classroom.
• Be discipline specific . Do not ignore your research. Explain how you advance your field through teaching.
• Avoid jargon and technical terms, as they can be off-putting to some readers. Try not to simply repeat what is in your CV. Teaching Statements are not exhaustive documents and should be used to complement other materials for the hiring or tenure processes.
• Be humble . Mention students in an enthusiastic, not condescending way, and illustrate your willingness to learn from your students and colleagues.
• Revise . Teaching is an evolving, reflective process, and Teaching Statements can be adapted and changed as necessary.

Reflection Questions To Help You Get You Started:*

• Why do you teach the way you do?
• What should students expect of you as a teacher?
• What is a method of teaching you rely on frequently? Why don’t you use a different method?
• What do you want students to learn? How do you know your goals for students are being met?
• What should your students be able to know or do as a result of taking your class?
• How can your teaching facilitate student learning?
• How do you as a teacher create an engaging or enriching learning environment?
• What specific activities or exercises do you use to engage your students? What do you want your students to learn from these activities?
• How has your thinking about teaching changed over time? Why?

* These questions and exercises are meant to be tools to help you begin reflecting on your beliefs and ideas as a teacher. No single Teaching Statement can contain the answers to all or most of these inquiries and activities.

Exercises to Help You Get You Started:*

• The Teaching Portfolio , including a section on teaching statements, Duquesne University Center for Teaching Excellence. This website includes five effective exercises to help you begin the writing process
• Teaching Goals Inventory , by Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross and their book Classroom Assessment Techniques . This “quiz” helps you to identify or create your teaching and learning goals.

Evaluating Your Teaching Statement

Writing A Statement Of Teaching Philosophy For The Academic Job Search (opens as a PDF), The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan.

This report includes a useful rubric for evaluating teaching philosophy statements. The design of the rubric was informed by experience with hundreds of teaching philosophies, as well as surveys of search committees on what they considered successful and unsuccessful components of job applicants’ teaching philosophies.

Further Resources:

General information on and guidelines for writing teaching statements.

• Writing a Philosophy of Teaching Statement , Faculty and TA Development at The Ohio State University. This site provides an in-depth guide to teaching statements, including the definition of and purposes for a teaching statement, general formatting suggestions, and a self-reflective guide to writing a teaching statement.
• Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement , Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Iowa State University. This document looks at four major components of a teaching statement, which have been divided into questions—specifically, to what end? By what means? To what degree? And why? Each question is sufficiently elaborated, offering a sort of scaffolding for preparing one’s own teaching statement.
• Writing a Meaningful Statement of Teaching Philosophy , McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning at Princeton University. This website offers strategies for preparing and formatting your teaching statement.

Articles about Teaching Statements

• Grundman, Helen (2006). Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement (opens as a PDF), Notices of the AMS , Vol. 53, No. 11, p. 1329.
• Montell, Gabriela (2003). How to Write a Statement of Teaching Philosophy , from the Chronicle Manage Your Career section of the Chronicle of Higher Education .
• Montell, Gabriela (2003). What’s Your Philosophy on Teaching, and Does it Matter? , from the Chronicle Manage Your Career section of the Chronicle of Higher Education .

Teaching Guides

• Online Course Development Resources
• Principles & Frameworks
• Pedagogies & Strategies
• Reflecting & Assessing
• Challenges & Opportunities
• Populations & Contexts

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Applications

How to write a great personal statement for a teaching job.

Vinny Potter

7 Feb 2024, 16:23

Discover our top tips on what to include in your personal statement for a teaching job and how to present your skills, knowledge, experience and attributes.

Supported by:

Academies Enterprise Trust

Your personal statement is the heart of your application for work as an early career teacher and should be tailored for each role. For teaching applications this is sometimes also called a letter of application, but it is essentially the same thing. This is your opportunity to provide evidence of how you match the needs of the specific teaching job you are applying for, and earn yourself an invitation to the next stage, which is likely to be a selection day held at the school.

Writing tips for personal statements

See our example personal statement for primary school teaching, below. Imagine it was written in response to the following job advert:

We are advertising for a Year 3 Classroom Teacher. The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following:

• Committed to our school and our values
• Experience across a range of age groups
• Committed to reflection and improving practice
• Knowledge of the National Curriculum
• Excellent lesson planning
• Knowledge of assessment
• Good knowledge of SEND and positive interventions
• Positive approach to provide challenge and support student success
• Excellent behaviour management
• Good communication skills with parents
• Enthusiastic and creative approach to lessons
• Willing to contribute to the wider life of the school.

See our personal statement for secondary school teaching, below. Imagine it was written in response to the following job advert:

Country High School are advertising for an enthusiastic Secondary PE Teacher. The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following:

• Ability to adapt and tailor your approach for the differing needs of pupils
• Knowledge of the National Curriculum for your subject
• Knowledge of a wide range of sports
• Willing to engage in extra curricular activities and the wider life of the school
• Experience of supporting high ability students, as well as those who may be less able or motivated
• Ability to use data effectively
• Teach across all ability levels including SEND
• Ability to use Technology to enhance learning.

When completing a personal statement for a teaching job, you should typically observe the following guidelines:

• Do not write a generic statement. Instead use the person specification and job advert for the vacancy as a structure for your statement or consider using the government's Teachers' Standards if no person specification is provided.
• Do not exceed two sides of A4, unless otherwise instructed.
• Tailor your statement for each new application according to the nature of the school or LA and the advertised role.
• Always read any guidance provided – many schools and LAs will tell you how they want this section set out.
• Emphasise your individual strengths in relation to the role.
• For a pool application, make sure you give a good overview of your skills and experience.
• It is essential that you give specific examples of what you have done to back up your claims.

Primary school personal statement

Examples of a personal statements for a primary school teaching job.

Primary school personal statement example

Secondary school personal statement

See our example of a personal statement for a secondary school teaching job.

Secondary school personal statement example

What you should cover in your personal statement

When schools advertise graduate teaching jobs , they write a job description which states the essential attributes they are looking for. This is their marking criteria for the job. When they read your statement, they will usually score this based on their essential and desirable criteria. Therefore, you need to read their documents carefully to find the criteria and provide an example or evidence of each point. If the job advert does not include any documents which include their criteria, then you can use the following structure for your statement and use the Teachers’ Standards as a guide for the criteria they may be looking for.

Why you are applying for the role:

• Refer to any knowledge you have of the LA or the school, including any visits to the school and what you learned from them.
• Show you would be a good fit for the school. The best way to do this is to look at the school’s values and give an example of how you match these.
• Mention any special circumstances (for example, your religious faith) which you think are relevant.

Details about your course:

• Give an overview of your training course - including the age range and subjects covered - and any special features.
• If you are a PGCE student, mention your first degree, your dissertation (if appropriate), any classroom-based research projects and relevant modules studied. Also mention if you have studied any masters modules.

Your teaching experience:

• What year groups you have taught.
• What subjects you have covered.
• Your use and understanding of formative and summative assessment practices.

Your classroom management strategies:

• Give examples of how you planned and delivered lessons and evaluated learning outcomes, including differentiation, scaffolding etc.
• Explain how you have managed classrooms and behaviour.
• Detail your experience of working with assistants or parents in your class.

Your visions and beliefs about primary/secondary education:

• What are your beliefs about learning and your visions for the future? You could touch on areas such as learning and teaching styles and strategies.
• Reflect on key policies relevant to the age range you want to teach.

Other related experience:

• This can include information about any previous work experience.
• Include training activities you have carried out and ways in which your subject knowledge has been developed.

Other related skills and interests:

• Give details of any particular competencies, experiences or leisure interests. This will help the school to know more about you as a person and could ‘add value’ in a school environment.
• Any involvement in working with children (running clubs, youth work and summer camps) is particularly useful to include.

Aim to end on a positive note. A conclusion which displays your enthusiasm in relation to the specific application and teaching in general will enhance your application - but avoid general statements and clichés.

Written by Vinny Potter, St Marys University, Twickenham, July 2023

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• Jan 16, 2021

Writing a Personal Statement

Going for your first NQT post can be a daunting prospect... especially when in teaching, you need to write a personal statement to support your application form.

Schools use your personal statement to help short list candidates for a position by checking off the criteria of the person specification that they can see in your statement. It is always a good idea to write your personal statement alongside the person specification, ensuring that you have included all the "essential" criteria and as much of the "desirable" criteria you can that are assessed through the application.

Where possible, you should also use the language of the school you are applying to - their vision, values, mission and ethos statements will help you here and should be available on the school's website. You will also sometimes find these in the application pack. Read this carefully and then read it again, reading between the lines of what they might be looking for.

Here is an example of the structure of a personal statement for a trainee teacher applying for their first NQT job:

Begin with an impact statement that summarises your philosophy on teaching or that refers to the mission/vision/values/ethos of the school you are applying to:

I believe that it is, as Einstein said, the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. As a passionate teacher, dedicated to ensuring the very best outcomes for all students I teach, this statement resonates with me as I endeavour to awaken joy in all of the learners within my classroom. It was your belief all young people have the right to a transformational educational experience, that will enable them, no matter what their starting point, to fulfil their potential and realise their ambitions that first attracted me to your school as it aligns with my own personal and professional philosophy on education.

Throughout my practice, I constantly encourage pupils to participate and contribute in an atmosphere highly conducive to learning. I have consistently set high expectations of pupils in different training contexts. There are high levels of mutual respect between me and pupils. I am very effective in promoting learners’ resilience, confidence and independence when tackling challenging activities. In my lesson, I generate high levels of enthusiasm, participation and commitment to learning.

Back this up with an example from your training.

I have also assumed a high level of responsibility for the attainment progress and outcomes of the pupils I have taught. I have demonstrated confident judgement in planning for pupil progression both within individual lessons and over time and I am able to articulate a clear and well-justified rationale as to how I am building on prior achievement. Within my lessons, I seek to actively promote engaging and effective methods that support pupils in reflecting on their learning. I have demonstrated that I am able to set appropriately challenging tasks, drawing on a sound knowledge of the pupils’ prior attainment, which has been obtained through systematic and accurate assessment. I regularly create opportunities for independent and autonomous learning. As a result the majority of pupils make very good progress.

In order to plan effective lessons, I draw on my in-depth subject and curriculum knowledge of [your subject or phase] to plan confidently for progression and to stimulate and capture pupils’ interest. Throughout my training, I have demonstrated very well-developed pedagogical subject knowledge, by anticipating common errors and misconceptions in my planning. I am astutely aware of my own development needs in relation to extending and updating my subject, curriculum and pedagogical knowledge in my early career and have been proactive in developing these effectively during my training. I always model very high standards of written and spoken communication in all professional activities. I also successfully identify and exploit opportunities to develop learners’ skills, in communication, reading and writing.

I plan lessons that often use well-chosen, imaginative and creative strategies, and that match individuals’ needs and interests. I am highly reflective in critically evaluating my practice. I am able to accurately judge the impact of my practice on individual and groups of learners and can use my evaluation to inform future planning, teaching and learning. During my training, I have shown initiative in contributing to curriculum planning and developing and producing effective learning resources in my placement settings.

I have been able to quickly and accurately discern my learners’ strengths and needs and I have been proactive in differentiating and employing a range of effective intervention strategies to secure progression for individuals and groups. I have an astute understanding of how effective different teaching approaches are in relation to impact on learning and engagement of learners

I can confidently and accurately assess pupils’ attainment against national benchmarks. I use a range of assessment strategies very effectively in my day-to-day practice to monitor progress and to inform future planning. In my practice, I systematically and effectively check learners’ understanding throughout lessons, anticipating where intervention may be needed and do so with notable impact on the quality of learning. I have shown that I am able to assess learners’ progress regularly and work with them to accurately target further improvement and secure rapid progress.

I have been able to rapidly adapt to the different circumstances in which I have trained, working confidently within the frameworks established in different settings and applying rules and routines consistently and fairly. I have also demonstrated an ability to adapt to remote working and remote delivery in response to the Global Pandemic. I consistently have high expectations and understand a range of strategies that experienced teachers use to promote positive behaviour and apply these very effectively, including use of school sanctions and rewards, and use of praise, in order to create an environment highly supportive of learning. I am able to manage pupil behaviour with ease so that learners display very high levels of engagement, courtesy, collaboration and co-operation. Where it is needed, I actively seek additional support in addressing the needs of pupils where significantly challenging behaviour is demonstrated.

During my training, I have been proactive in seeking out opportunities to contribute in a significant way to the wider life and ethos of the school. I have built strong professional relationships and have demonstrated that I am able to work collaboratively with colleagues on a regular basis. I have taken responsibility for deploying support staff in my lessons and for seeking advice from relevant professionals in relation to pupils with individual needs. I deliberately seek out opportunities to develop my own professional learning and respond positively to all the feedback I receive. I have also demonstrated that I can communicate very effectively, both verbally and in writing, with parents and carers in relation to pupils’ achievements and well-being when required to do so formally, but I am also proactive in communicating in relation to individual pupils’ emergent needs.

I always treat pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect, and at all times observing proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher's professional position. I realise the need to safeguard pupils' well-being, in accordance with statutory provisions. I show tolerance of and respect for the rights of others. I do not undermine fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. I always ensure that personal beliefs are not expressed in ways which exploit pupils' vulnerability or might lead them to break the law. I am always punctual and have good attendance. I have attended numerous CPD sessions and will continue to do so. I have also completed a weekly duty (before school and at break} and attends daily briefings (whole school, subject or pastoral). I have taken on board the policies of the school and maintain a high standard in all my practices. I have a good understanding of the framework within which I work and my professional duties

End with a statement that implies/assumes you will be invited for interview:

I would relish the opportunity to work at your school and look forward to discussing this further with you at interview.

You can download the word version of this

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Personal statement for PGCE secondary

If you want to teach children aged 11 and over you'll need to apply through the Department for Education's (DfE) Apply for teacher training service

This example should be used for guidance only. Copying any of this text could significantly harm your chances of securing a place on a course.

Example personal statement for PGCE secondary

I became interested in teaching after realising how much I had benefited from excellent and passionate teachers. They exuded a real sense of enthusiasm for learning, which inspires me to pass on that passion.

My love for computing developed during my A-levels after discovering an aptitude for programming and networking. This drove me to study more, going on to gain a 2:1 in BSc Computer Systems and Network Engineering from the University of England. Studying at university developed my passion for computer sciences and taught me a range of transferable skills that I believe are fundamentally important to teach young people. This is demonstrated in my dissertation, which was awarded a first, investigating The Internet of Things (IoT) and how it can help shape educational establishments of the future.

While at university I decided to volunteer as a teaching assistant in a mainstream school. By my final year I was able to take responsibility for running activities in the classroom, balancing the needs of each child and managing behaviour issues. In addition, I regularly helped run the lunchtime computer club. In working with more vulnerable students such as SEN learners I saw the role played by support staff in maintaining control of the classroom, particularly with those who can be disruptive when under stimulated. I learned the importance of differentiating lesson plans to educate and engage students with special needs and the power of strategies such as a well thought out seating plan and friendly competitiveness in learners. I saw students develop within the classroom as a result of my determined support and these good working relationships are beginning to result in higher grades. I have liaised well across several departments to communicate information about students in an organised and diplomatic way.

One highlight was when I supported a young person with ADHD who attended computer club. They had been struggling to remain focussed and on task in class but were able to focus well when completing tasks on a computer. As a result, they suffered from poor behaviour, disengagement and low self-esteem. I negotiated with some class teachers to allow this pupil to use a tablet during their lessons. The pupil could then access any PowerPoint presentations being delivered to enable them to go back and reread specific slides. They could also access links to visual resources to enhance their understanding of the subject being taught. Homework was posted online for them to complete and submit electronically. This was such a success that the school invested in more tablets to be used by a range of students across the school. This further inspired me to want to become a teacher to enable me to support others who may be facing barriers to learning that could be tackled through the introduction of technology.

To support my professional development further I undertook short work placements in two other schools. Volunteering in Key Stages 1 and 2 confirmed my desire to teach Key Stages 3 and 4. I became aware of the many demands placed upon teachers and their time and I believe that the project management, communication and problem-solving skills gained during my degree will be invaluable assets within the classroom and beyond. I was exposed to a range of pedagogical models and teaching methods, which is something I look forward to learning more about on a PGCE.

One of my hobbies is to make short films about how to use different forms of technology and software packages. I post these on YouTube as instructional videos. These have proved to be very popular and I am considering how I can use this type of activity to benefit the students I teach. One option is to support students to create their own videos to help deepen their understanding of a subject, which they can then choose to upload to the school's virtual learning environment to aid their peers if they wish.

During school placements I witnessed the challenges and rewards present in a school environment. Teachers need to be resilient particularly when working with students who find school difficult, do not want to engage and do not want to accept support. However, I look forward to working in the education system and believe I could help and inspire students to develop their future aspirations.

While researching for my dissertation I spoke with secondary school teachers about the challenges their students faced and one that came up often was digital poverty. In many inner-city schools, pupils do not always have access to up to date and reliable computer technology to allow them to keep up with the advances in technology that they’ll face when seeking employment. One of my aims would be to investigate how the use of integrated technologies, as well as fostering links with local companies and the community, could result in a cost-effective solution allowing all students equal access to computer technology.

Technology has become its own form of literacy due to its prevalence in everyday life. Numerous careers use at least one aspect of Microsoft Office or Google Drive daily; balancing budgets on spreadsheets, creating slides to be presented, or attaching documents to emails to communicate important information. Allowing students to learn and refine these skills prepares them for life beyond the classroom.

With technology being present in many classrooms, and not just to teach computing skills, the introduction of the IoT could enhance learning activities even more. It could provide improved connectivity, introduce artificial intelligence and virtual reality to the learning environment as well as cloud computing platforms. I am excited about the future of education and how I can be an active part of it.

When writing your personal statement, you need to include:

• What inspired you to choose teaching.
• Why you wish to teach at secondary level.
• Your knowledge of the pressures and rewards of teaching.
• The personal qualities and skills that will make you a good teacher.
• How you might contribute to the wider school environment such as running extra-curricular activities and clubs.
• Any experience of working with children and what you learnt through doing this.
• Evidence of your knowledge related to the subject you hope to teach.
• Any relevant work or unpaid experience.
• Your degree, degree modules and dissertation topic where relevant.
• Any relevant skills, hobbies and achievements.

Find out more

• Read all about applying for teacher training .
• Get prepared with our teaching interview questions .
• See more examples of teaching personal statements .

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Your teacher training personal statement

Your personal statement is your chance to make yourself memorable with teacher training providers and show them why you’ll make a great teacher.

You do not have to write it all at once – you can start it and come back to it. Successful candidates often take a few weeks to write their personal statements.

How long should my teacher training personal statement be?

Your personal statement can be up to 1000 words. 90% of successful candidates write 500 words or more.

You could include:

• skills you have that are relevant to teaching
• any experience of working with young people
• your understanding of why teaching is important
• your reasons for wanting to train to be a teacher
• any activities you’ve done that could be relevant to teaching (such as first aid courses, sports coaching or volunteering)

Teacher training providers want to see your passion and that you understand the bigger picture of teaching.

How to write your personal statement

When writing your personal statement you should make sure you check your spelling and grammar in your application. You want to make the best possible impression.

You can use ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help you write your personal statement. You should not rely on it to write your entire statement because:

AI tools use bland language and will not be able to give details about you as a person. Using them may result in your application being unsuccessful

your account to apply for teacher training may be blocked if you consistently submit personal statements that look like they have been written with AI tools

Do I use the same personal statement for each application?

You can use the same personal statement for every course you apply to.

However, there may be some instances where you’d like to tailor it to different courses.

For example, if you want to apply to train to teach maths and also to train to teach physics. In this case, you might want to change your personal statement to talk more specifically about the subject you’re applying to train to teach.

Should my personal statement be different if I’m training to teach primary or secondary?

You should use your personal statement to explain why you feel passionate about teaching a specific age range or subject.

If you’re applying for a primary course with a subject specialism, or you’re particularly interested in certain primary subjects, you can talk about that, too.

If you’re not sure if you want to teach primary or secondary, you can find out more about teaching different age groups .

Do I need school experience?

You do not need school experience to apply for teacher training, but it can help strengthen your personal statement.

Teacher training providers like to see that you have a good understanding of teaching, how the school system works and what your transferable skills are. You need more than just good subject knowledge and school experience can be a great way to get this.

Getting some school experience can also be a good way to make sure teaching is right for you before you apply for a course.

Find out how you could get school experience .

Get help with your personal statement

You can get help with your personal statement from our teacher training advisers . They have years of teaching experience and can give you free, one-to-one support by phone, text, or email.

Advisers can also help you understand more about what teaching is really like, which can help improve your application.

Having a teacher training adviser was really beneficial when editing my personal statement and preparing for interviews. My top tips for the application process would be to get an adviser, and to think about what transferrable skills you have when writing your personal statement and answering interview questions. Felix, former teacher trainee

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Your NQT Personal Statement – 13 Tips to Make it Stand Out

When you’re applying for your first NQT teaching job it can be quite challenging. You might feel like you’re all alone, with no one to help and advise you. We don’t want you to struggle and perhaps lose the opportunity to get that teaching position you have set your eyes on. Therefore, we’ve created this post just for you.

Once you’re ready to start looking for a teaching position, one of the first things you will need to prepare is your application. There are usually three main components to an effective application, and these elements are:

• The application form
• A supporting statement or letter of application
• An executive summary to show how you comply with the criteria, and that you are the person the school is looking for.

In this article we will be focusing on your NQT Personal Statement. 

Your NQT personal statement is likely to be the first impression that you will make with this new school or NQT pool and an ideal opportunity to show your unique qualities that make you the best person for the position on offer. 

Therefore, you will want this opportunity to promote yourself to the school in the best way possible. So it’s important that your writing is coherent, focused and clearly explains your reasoning behind wanting to be a teacher. In addition, a strong NQT personal statement will set you apart from other candidates in the competitive marketplace. 

Just like a resume and cover letter for a regular job, your personal statement should be rewritten for every position you apply for.

Never use the same NQT personal statement for multiple applications. Generic personal statements are super easy for employers to spot. And after all, you want to shine, right? Plus, you don’t want to copy someone else’s statement. Your employer might screen all personal statements using a similarity detection service like Copycatch. This could really hurt your application right out of the gate. And quite possibly end up in the bin. 

Remember, your personal statement is your chance to show your personality and enthusiasm, relevant to the school and prove you understand what they are looking for.

Your personal statement also shows your communication skills. That’s why you want to grab their attention, just like you want to with your students at the start of every lesson.

What is the NQT personal statement?

The NQT personal statement is an important document which schools use to understand why you want to become a teacher and whether you are suitable to teach at their school.

Of course, your application form will lay out all your qualifications, your skills, your strengths and weaknesses and also any relevant work experience. But your NQT personal statement is where you allow your unique personality to shine.

It is important to put your heart into writing your statement. And be prepared to write multiple drafts.

How do you write an effective NQT personal statement?

Your application and your NQT statement are going to be the first steps in securing the position you are looking for. Therefore, you obviously want to make a great first impression. Be ready to go through multiple drafts. Take your time, and get feedback from friends and family members.

I’m sure you have a ton of questions, such as:

• How do I write a killer, successful NQT statement?
• Where do I start?
• What should I include in my NQT statement?

These are all important questions. And I’m sure you have many more. So, let’s dive in and show you how to write an NQT statement which will stand out and give you the best chance of getting hired in your chosen teaching position.

Are you ready to write your killer NQT personal statement?

Great. Here are some important tips to help you.

1. The first rule when writing a successful NQT statement is to know your audience.

Before you start, it’s a great idea to step back for a minute and put yourself in your hiring manager’s shoes.

Think about what's important to them. What are they passionate about? What are they looking for? How can you improve their life?

When you think about what your hiring manager is looking for, you’ll have a much better chance of writing a concise and effective personal statement.

It’s a good idea to write a list of 10 things you think will be important to them.

However, the most critical step at this stage is to do your research and find out exactly what is required for this specific application. Different schools or LEA’s will have different requirements for the personal statement and should have guidelines somewhere in their application advert or portal.

Clearly your first task is to make sure that the personal statement you prepare is tailored to the requirements that have been set out for that job.

2. What is your objective?

• What is the purpose of your personal statement?
• Why should they hire you?
• What action are you trying to get the reader to take?

You need to be clear on this before you start writing your personal statement. If the answer isn't clear to you, it certainly won't be clear to your potential employer.

3. Why do you want to be a teacher?

Seems a simple question on the surface. But this is a great opportunity to show you’ve thought through this question. You could mention a past teacher who inspired you. Or the challenges and rewards of teaching. You could also talk about any lessons you have observed or taught previously which impacted you. You could also discuss particular teaching styles and your interests in using technology in the classroom.

Key tip: Think about creating a story for this question. Remember, the hiring manager is first and foremost a human being. Many new teachers make the mistake of forgetting this vital point. You are equal to them in this respect. Use emotional language to touch your reader. Help them imagine themselves in the situation you are describing. Help them feel what it was like in the situation that drove your desire in becoming a teacher. This is a major key in rousing your reader’s emotions.

4. Make sure you start your personal statement strongly.

Just like a great book or movie, your opening sentence should stand out. Make it memorable, without being overly dramatic. Effective personal statements often start with what inspired you to enter teaching in the first place.

• Did a high school teacher inspire you?
• Was it your own experience of learning?
• Was it a good or bad teacher you had previously?

This is a great opportunity to show some passion. Like point no.3 above, use some emotional language.

5. Why do you want to teach a particular age group?

Be ready to explain why a certain age group appeals to you. Mention specific examples of your experience with this age group.

For example, anyone who has taught kindergarten knows how much energy the students have. Lessons are always full on. And as cute as the kids are, if your lessons are not jam-packed with active, high-energy games, you’re going to lose them. 

Similarly, elementary students are at a stage where they are slowly beginning to think for themselves and many of them think they already know it all. At this age role-playing is effective, as the students like to see themselves as tiny adults. 

If your chosen age group is teenagers, you’ll be aware that this age group has its own challenges. Being a teenager has never been an easy task, and with so many changes going on in their lives and their bodies, their confidence is up and down. 

So, when you answer this question, you’ll need to show that you can relate to what is going on in your chosen group’s world. Show you are able to look back to when you were their age, relate to the age group and show how you keep your lessons relevant and exciting.

6. What experience do you have?

Relevant teaching experience is always going to help you when applying for any position. But it is also important to reflect on how that experience has helped you develop as a teacher. If you haven’t had much classroom time:

• Do you have any experience in voluntary teaching?
• Have you coached a sports team or been involved with a summer camp?

Obviously, as a new teacher, you can’t recite years of experience. Help your hiring manager imagine you in action. For example, you could describe a particular lesson which was either a success or failure. Think about retelling a memorable or challenging experience with a student, or a description of what your classroom looks and sounds like on a typical day. This will be much more valuable to enable them to envision your teaching experience than to cite pedagogical terms or talk vaguely about your teaching experience.

Always use specific examples of how your experiences have developed your teaching skills.

7. You should highlight your achievements, strengths and skills

Explain what you can bring to the school. Show how you differ from the other candidates. You could mention past experience and achievements, your unique talents, as well as your professional goals. You could also add specific classroom strategies you have developed and how they helped your students.

Many applications will make it clear that they want you to cover your specific qualifications, skills and understanding of elements of the National Curriculum, your classroom and educational skills plu your short and long term goals for making a difference to the education of your pupils.

The exact requirements should be set out in the application guidelines which should also tell you what you need to focus on.

8. How long should your NQT personal statement be?

This is not an essay. It’s simply a summary of you, your skills and your experience, and how they relate to the position you are applying for. Therefore, you should be specific and keep your personal statement short and informative.

This will help you keep your personal statement under a widely recommended  500-word limit. The school will not be impressed by minor childhood achievements, so keep your statement pertinent and focused.

That said, again, check the specific requirements in each case. Some applications will welcome a longer NQT personal statement, as is the case with Lambeth where we are happy to read up to three pages of A4, but no more.

If there is no guidance then the 500 word range is a very solid guide.

9. Make every word count

It’s a good idea to take a leaf out of a professional copywriter’s book here. Don’t waffle. Make every word count. Use powerful words where possible, without being overly dramatic. Avoid weak words like may, maybe, hope, wish, try, and perhaps. Instead, use words like will and can to help your personal statement command attention.

10. Take your time

Edit and then re-edit your personal statement. Besides being difficult to read, misspelled words and grammatical errors will destroy your credibility. Once you think you’ve written a great personal statement, it’s a good idea to leave it for a day or two. Then come back and see if you can improve it.

11. Read your statement out loud

This next tip is super-effective, and one many people fail to do. Read your statement out loud. If you do this, you’ll spot areas that don’t flow properly. And if you stumble when reading your statement out loud, you can be sure your potential employer will have the same trouble.

Key tip: Why don’t you record yourself as you read out your statement? This is simple to do with your phone. Then play it back and see if you can spot areas you can improve.

12. Let friends and relatives read your personal statement

Make sure whoever you ask to read your personal statement knows you want them to be critical. The whole purpose of this exercise is to improve your statement, not to make you happy that they love it. Choose your feedback team carefully. 

13. Finish strongly

The way you finish your personal statement should reinforce your enthusiasm for your career in teaching. Acknowledge that hard work is necessary, but also make your excitement stand out.

Your personal statement for PGCE primary

You should explain the experience you’ve gained with primary-age children.

The PGCE primary personal statements usually demonstrate your personality and the various skills you have which would benefit primary schools such as being artistic, your musical talents or your sporting prowess. 

All these types of skills would be very useful during primary schools’ extracurricular activities.  

Your personal statement for PGCE secondary

In this type of personal statement, you will want to make it clear you understand the challenges of teaching older students.

You could mention specific examples of situations and challenges you have faced teaching this age of students, and how you overcame them.  

You’ll also want to document how your degree ties in with the position you are applying for.

Final thoughts on your NQT Personal Statement

So, that is the nuts and bolts of what your NQT personal statement should include. The basic foundation for an effective personal statement is that it’s all about the pupils. What the school wants for the pupils, what you can provide for the pupils.  

You should always write your personal statement, and indeed your whole application from the angle of what will benefit the pupils, not what’s best for you.  The school is not interested at this stage in what’s good for you, it’s more interested in what’s good for its pupils, and if you can provide that. 

Now you know the structure of a strong NQT personal statement, we hope you will be in a perfect position to write an effective statement to get that dream job you’ve had your eyes on.

There’s more on the specific requirements of what Lambeth are looking for in the NQT personal statement for the Lambeth NQT pool on pages 10 and 11 of the NQT Information Pack which you can download here .

Remember that, as we said at the start of this article, each job you apply for should come with clear requirements for the application and hopefully some guidance. In the case of Lambeth we have a requirement for your NQT personal statement to clearly cover how your skills, knowledge and experience meet the requirements of being an NQT, and we outline a set structure that helps you do that.

Download our NQT Information Pack now to learn more.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

A short-term longitudinal study on the development of moral disengagement among schoolchildren: the role of collective moral disengagement, authoritative teaching, and student-teacher relationship quality.

• 1 Department of Primary Teacher Education, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden
• 2 Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
• 3 Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

The aim of this study was to examine whether collective moral disengagement and authoritative teaching at the classroom level, and student-teacher relationship quality at the individual level, predicted individual moral disengagement among pre-adolescent students 1 year later. In this short-term longitudinal study, 1,373 students from 108 classrooms answered a web-based questionnaire on tablets during school, once in fifth grade (T1) and once in sixth grade (T2). The results showed, after controlling for T1 moral disengagement, gender, and immigrant background, that students with better student-teacher relationship quality at T1 were more inclined to score lower on moral disengagement at T2, whereas students in classrooms with higher levels of collective moral disengagement at T1 were more inclined to score higher on moral disengagement at T2. In addition, both collective moral disengagement and authoritative teaching were found to moderate the associations between student-teacher relationship quality at T1 and moral disengagement at T2. These findings underscore the importance of fostering positive relationships between students and teachers, as well as minimizing collective moral disengagement in classrooms. These measures may prevent the potential escalation of moral disengagement in a negative direction.

Introduction

Although there exist different theories and research traditions of children’s moral development, most of them focus on how children progress in and increase their morality ( Jensen, 2020 ; Killen and Smetana, 2022 ). However, as Bussey (2020) notes, there is a lack of research regarding children’s adherence to moral standards, including the moral standards–behavior gap. For instance, already by age three, children typically recognize moral transgressions, such as being mean to others, independently of authority figures and rules (for a meta-analysis, see Yoo and Smetana, 2022 ), yet schoolchildren still engage in immoral actions, such as bullying. Considering the pervasive moral socialization of children taking place at home and in school, and despite their own progress and advancement in moral development, including the understanding by the time they are of preschool age that bullying is wrong, why do schoolchildren engage in such immoral behavior?

Bandura’s social cognitive theory provides insights into this possible moral standard–behavior gap, highlighting the role of moral disengagement in justifying immoral behaviors ( Bandura, 1999 , 2002 , 2016 ). Moral disengagement is a social cognitive process allowing individuals to justify harmful behaviors towards others, enabling them to act immorally without experiencing typical moral self-sanctions like remorse, guilt, or shame ( Bandura, 2002 , 2016 ). Previous research has established a clear link between moral disengagement and bullying ( Killer et al., 2019 ; Thornberg, 2023 ), a pervasive issue affecting children and adolescents worldwide in school settings ( Bradshaw et al., 2017 ; Cosma et al., 2020 ). Consequently, the development of moral disengagement emerges as a critical concern in the field of child development and education. Recognizing the pivotal role of moral development within educational contexts and the significant influence of school environments on students’ behavior ( Eccles and Roeser, 2015 ), longitudinal research on predictors of moral disengagement within a school context is needed. However, existing longitudinal studies often treat moral disengagement as a predictor rather than investigating its antecedents ( Thornberg, 2023 ). To address this gap, the aim of our study is to examine whether students’ moral disengagement in peer aggression is predicted by students’ perceptions of student-teacher relationships, the degree of authoritative teaching and collective moral disengagement within the classroom over the course of 1 year.

In Sweden, compulsory schooling comprises four stages: a pre-school class (age 6), lower elementary school (grades 1–3, ages 7–9), upper elementary school (grades 4–6, ages 10–12), and lower secondary school (grades 7–9, ages 13–15). In elementary school, students typically remain in a single classroom (homeroom) with the same classmates for most subjects, where one or two primary class teachers teach the majority of subjects, with only a few additional teachers (e.g., physical education, arts). Additionally, it is common for class teachers to stay with the same group of students from first to third grade (lower elementary teachers) and then from fourth to sixth grade (upper elementary teachers). Thus, the classroom, defined as the social setting in which students and teachers interact and influence each other’s attitudes and behaviors ( Farmer et al., 2011 ; Hendricks et al., 2016 ), emerges as an important unit of analysis when examining factors influencing the development of moral disengagement in Swedish children.

In the current study, we focus on early adolescence and the last 2 years of the Swedish elementary school, from age 11 to age 12. Focusing on this age group is particularly important because bullying seems to be most prevalent during these years, both in Sweden ( Friends, 2022 ) and elsewhere ( Due et al., 2005 ). Furthermore, studying moral disengagement development at the beginning of adolescence is crucial because it’s a phase where individuals start to actively shape their sense of identity and values ( Sawyer et al., 2012 ). This period offers a vital window for investigating the foundational aspects, precursors, and implications of morality, given its role in shaping lifelong ethical attitudes and behaviors ( Malti et al., 2021 ). Further, our focus on the role of teachers and peers in the present study aligns with Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) conceptualization of the microsystem , and thus aims to explore how specific factors—on their own and in interaction—within a student’s immediate and direct environment influence the development of moral disengagement. Relationships with teachers and peers play a significant role in shaping a students’ development, influencing their beliefs, behaviors, psychological health, and social relationships ( Hamre and Pianta, 2001 ; Cornelius-White, 2007 ; Farmer et al., 2019 ; Troop-Gordon et al., 2019 ).

Moral disengagement theory

Within the framework of moral disengagement theory, Bandura (2016) described eight mechanisms through which moral disengagement occurs: through moral justification, using euphemistic language to soften destructive actions, comparing one’s actions favorably to others’, avoiding personal responsibility by shifting blame elsewhere, diffusing responsibility within a group, distorting or minimizing the consequences of one’s actions, dehumanizing others to justify mistreatment, and attributing blame to victims. By selectively using these moral disengagement mechanisms, individuals can avoid negative self-sanction, thereby increasing the likelihood of engaging in harmful behaviors.

A fundamental principle in the social cognitive theory is viewing humans as active agents who can intentionally influence their functioning and life circumstances ( Bandura, 1986 ). Moral agency – the ability to refrain from immoral actions and act humanely - results from the interactions among personal factors (e.g., cognition, emotions), social and environmental factors (e.g., family, peer group reactions), and behaviors (e.g., aggression). In other words, behavior and cognition - such as moral disengagement - are partly the result of socialization processes within different socio-cultural contexts ( Bandura, 1999 ). Indeed, previous research has shown that poor parental supervision and monitoring ( Campaert et al., 2018 ), rejecting parenting, and neighborhood impoverishment ( Hyde et al., 2010 ) positively predict moral disengagement over time. Regarding the peer context, Fontaine et al. (2014) revealed that peer rejection predicted subsequent moral disengagement, while Caravita et al. (2014) found that in early adolescence (but not in late childhood), Italian students became more like their friends in terms of level of moral disengagement over time. In a recent study, Korean elementary school students were also found to become more like their friends concerning moral disengagement over time ( Kim et al., 2024 ).

Collective moral disengagement

Social cognitive theory does not only include personal agency but also collective agency as a central part of the self-regulatory process ( Bandura, 2002 ). Therefore, moral disengagement can also be considered a group characteristic ( White et al., 2009 ; Bandura, 2016 ). Specifically, collective moral disengagement is “an emergent group-level property arising from the interactive, coordinative, and synergistic group dynamics” ( White et al., 2009 , p. 43). In schools, collective moral disengagement may emerge at the school or classroom level, whereas it may operate more broadly in other contexts (e.g., the community; Bussey, 2020 ). At the classroom level, it captures the shared beliefs of students about the extent to which moral disengagement mechanisms are common among classmates ( Gini et al., 2014b ). Previous research from Sweden ( Thornberg et al., 2021 ; Bjärehed, 2022 ) and other European countries ( Gini et al., 2014b ; Kollerová et al., 2018 ) has demonstrated that students in classrooms characterized by higher levels of collective moral disengagement are more likely to engage in peer aggression and bullying. With the particular interest of the current study, a meta-analytical review ( Luo and Bussey, 2023 ) identified collective moral disengagement as one of the environmental correlates of moral disengagement, suggesting a positive association between the two constructs. In other words, in classrooms with higher levels of collective moral disengagement, students are also more prone to enlist moral disengagement mechanisms ( Gini et al., 2022 ).

Furthermore, collective moral disengagement has been found to moderate the association between individual moral disengagement and aggressive behaviors. For instance, in one Swedish study, Sjögren et al. (2021a) found that students more often reinforced or assisted in bullying situations if they belonged to classrooms with higher levels of collective moral disengagement and, at the same time, scored higher on individual moral disengagement. This aligns with the social cognitive theory, which suggests that collective processes interact with and influence individual behavior. Whether or not collective moral disengagement influences the development of individual students’ tendency to moral disengagement is still not well known. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to examine whether or not collective moral disengagement at the classroom level predicts students’ moral disengagement over time.

Authoritative teaching

The concept of authoritative parenting was introduced by Baumrind (1966) , in her influential work on parenting styles, and has been negatively linked with moral disengagement in young adults ( Di Pentima et al., 2023 ). Although this theory primarily addresses parents and child-rearing, scholars have highlighted the parallels between parents and teachers in their shared objective of fostering positive development and learning in their children and students ( Wentzel, 2002 ; Walker, 2009 ; Ertesvåg, 2011 ). Teachers play a significant role in shaping the growth of young individuals and can serve as influential socialization agents in their students’ personal and social development ( Farmer et al., 2011 , 2019 ). Authoritative teaching refers to high levels of support (responsiveness) and structure (demandingness). While support includes warmth, care, responsiveness, and open communication, structure is about high expectations, demandingness, and strict but fair enforcement of school rules and classroom order ( Walker, 2009 ; Gregory et al., 2010 ; Thornberg et al., 2018 ). Finne et al. (2018) have argued that an authoritative teaching style can counteract a destructive classroom power structure and foster moral engagement among students. Accordingly, authoritative schools and teaching have been linked to greater academic achievement in the United States ( Dever and Karabenick, 2011 ) and less bullying and victimization among Swedish children ( Thornberg et al., 2018 ; Kloo et al., 2023 ), Chinese adolescents ( Wang et al., 2022 ), and American adolescents ( Gregory et al., 2010 ; Cornell et al., 2015 ; Lau et al., 2018 ). However, less is known about the role of authoritative teaching for the development of students’ moral disengagement. Thus, the current study is the first to investigate whether authoritative teaching at the classroom level predicts students’ moral disengagement over time.

Student-teacher relationship quality

A warm, caring, and supportive student-teacher relationship is a vital part of authoritative teaching. However, the quality of the relationship between an individual student and the teacher does not necessarily align with the overall teaching style at the classroom level. Previous research has shown that a higher quality relationship between a student and teacher (warmer, more caring and supportive, more respectful interaction patterns) is associated with less bullying and peer victimization (for a meta-analysis, see ten Bokkel et al., 2023 ). Although it is our understanding that no studies have examined the predictive role of student-teacher relationship quality on student’s moral disengagement within a longitudinal design, a few cross-sectional studies on bullying and peer victimization have included both moral disengagement and student-teacher relationship quality (or aspects of the latter). For instance, one Swedish study showed that students demonstrating higher moral disengagement in conjunction with poorer student-teacher relationship quality were more prone to reinforce in bullying situations ( Sjögren et al., 2021b ). Another study on ethnic bullying in Italy showed that closeness to teachers might restrain morally disengaged children from bullying ( Iannello et al., 2021 ).

Furthermore, moral disengagement has been tested as a mediator between different school factors (e.g., school climate, teachers’ responses to bullying, student–student relationships) and bullying and aggression (e.g., Campaert et al., 2017 ; Ivaniushina and Alexandrov, 2022 ; Gao et al., 2023 ), suggesting that school factors may influence students’ moral disengagement. Concerning student-teacher relationships, one recent cross-sectional study examined whether moral disengagement mediated the association between student-teacher relationship quality and classroom incivility ( Gao et al., 2024 ). Classroom incivility here refers to student behaviors that negatively impact the learning environment, encompassing everything from minor disturbances to physical violence. The findings from this study showed that students with poorer student-teacher relationship quality scored also higher in moral disengagement, which in turn was linked to more classroom incivility behaviors. The authors suggest that a warm, caring, and supportive teacher may model positive communication patterns and behaviors, possibly helping students to “respect and understand others, strengthen their moral and rule constraints, and thereby reduce their levels of moral disengagement” ( Gao et al., 2024 , p. 508). Nevertheless, the cross-sectional design did not allow conclusions about the directionalities of these associations. The present study is the first to examine whether student-teacher relationship quality at the individual level predicts students’ moral disengagement over time.

The present study

The present study aimed to examine whether collective moral disengagement and authoritative teaching at the classroom level and student-teacher relationship quality at the individual level predicted individual moral disengagement among pre-adolescent students 1 year later. Given that previous studies suggest there are gender differences in moral disengagement ( Caravita et al., 2012 ; Thornberg et al., 2023 ; Gao et al., 2024 ), and considering that a student’s tendency to morally disengage may vary due to differing socialization practices across cultures ( Bussey, 2020 ), we included gender and immigrant background as control variables, along with the initial level of moral disengagement. Because Bandura (2016) argues that moral disengagement is “manifested differently depending on the sphere of activity” (p. 26), we delimited classroom collective moral disengagement and students’ moral disengagement in this study to the activity of peer aggression, including bullying and other forms of mean, unwanted or harmful behaviors toward peers. Thus, we did not study students’ proneness to morally disengage in general but how inclined they were to morally disengage when considering peer aggression.

Drawing on social cognitive theory, which posits that behaviors and cognitions are, in part, the result of socialization processes within different socio-cultural contexts ( Bandura, 1999 ), and empirical evidence from cross-sectional studies that collective moral disengagement at the classroom level is negatively associated with defending behavior ( Gini et al., 2015 ; Kollerová et al., 2018 ), and positively linked with peer aggression ( Gini et al., 2015 ), bullying perpetration ( Kollerová et al., 2018 ; Bjärehed et al., 2021 ; Thornberg et al., 2021 ), siding with peer aggressors ( Sjögren et al., 2021a ), and individual moral disengagement ( Luo and Bussey, 2023 ), we hypothesized that greater collective moral disengagement at the classroom level would predict greater individual moral disengagement 1 year later ( Hypothesis 1 ).

Based on previous cross-sectional findings showing that authoritative parenting is negatively linked with moral disengagement ( Di Pentima et al., 2023 ), that higher school structure (a dimension of an authoritative school construct) is associated with less moral disengagement ( Ivaniushina and Alexandrov, 2022 ), that authoritative teaching is negatively linked with bullying and pro-bullying behaviors ( Lau et al., 2018 ; Thornberg et al., 2018 ; Kloo et al., 2023 ), and that individually perceived authoritative school climate is negatively linked with moral disengagement ( Teng et al., 2020 ), we hypothesized that greater authoritative teaching at the classroom level would predict less moral disengagement 1 year later ( Hypothesis 2 ).

With reference to research showing that greater student-teacher relationship quality decreases the risk of bullying perpetration ( ten Bokkel et al., 2023 ) and cross-sectional studies showing a negative correlation between student-teacher relationship quality and moral disengagement ( Sjögren et al., 2021b ; Gao et al., 2024 ), we hypothesized that greater student-teacher relationship quality at the student level would predict less moral disengagement 1 year later ( Hypothesis 3 ).

Given that social cognitive theory ( Bandura, 1986 ) emphasizes the interplay between personal, behavioral, and environmental factors, and that previous research has not yet studied whether collective moral disengagement or authoritative teaching at the classroom level interacts with student-teacher relationship quality at the individual level to predict moral disengagement, we examined potential cross-level interaction effects in an exploratory manner.

Participants and procedure

Data were collected within a four-year longitudinal project that examined individual and classroom social and moral correlates of school bullying among Swedish school children from upper elementary school to the second year of lower secondary school. The overarching project started in the academic year 2015/2016. A total of 2,448 fifth-grade students in 64 schools were invited to participate in the current study. We used a strategic selection methodology which meant that the sample included students from different socio-geographical areas in Sweden (e.g., rural areas, small towns, and cities). Out of the original sample, 1,623 students filled in the questionnaire in grade 5 (51% girls). Reasons for non-participation included failure to submit parental consent (785 students) or absence on the day of data collection (40 students).

The students answered a web-based questionnaire on tablets in their regular classroom setting on two occasions: the first time in grade 5 and the second 1 year later in grade 6. Of those who answered the questionnaire in both grade 5 and grade 6, the final sample consisted of data from 1,373 students (grade 5,  M  = 11.5 and SD  = 0.3), nested in 108 classrooms. For attrition analyses, we assessed whether students who continued their participation ( n  = 1,373) from fifth to sixth grade differed from those who only participated in fifth grade ( n  = 250) in terms of their levels of individual moral disengagement, student-teacher relationship quality, and perceptions of authoritative teaching and collective moral disengagement in their classroom in fifth grade. Independent t tests showed that there were no group differences in any of these variables in fifth grade. Written informed parental consent and student assent were obtained from all participants, and no incentives were provided for participation. During each session, either a member of the research team or a teacher was present to explain the study procedures and aid participants as needed. This assistance included providing reading support and clarifying specific items or words on the questionnaire. Participants were also informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any time, with assurance that their individual responses would remain inaccessible to both parents and school personnel. Additionally, participants were instructed to sit at a distance from one another to prevent viewing each other’s responses. On average, participants took approximately 30 min to complete the questionnaire.

Moral disengagement

Moral disengagement at the individual level was measured with an 18-item self-report scale in grade 5 (T1) and grade 6 (T2). This scale was specifically developed in Swedish for the overarching longitudinal project to capture moral disengagement in peer aggression. Previous scales have commonly addressed either moral disengagement in more general antisocial behavior ( Bandura et al., 1996 ), or specifically in bullying situations ( Hymel et al., 2005 ; Thornberg and Jungert, 2014 ). The scale used in the current study has previously demonstrated adequate psychometric properties among Swedish school children ( Thornberg et al., 2019 ; Bjärehed et al., 2021 ; Sjögren et al., 2021a ; Bjärehed, 2022 ).

The students were asked to rate the extent to which they agreed (1 =  Strongly disagree to 7 =  Strongly agree ) with each of the 18 items (e.g., “If you cannot be like everybody else, it is your fault if you get bullied or frozen out.” or “If my friends begin to tease a classmate, I cannot be blamed for being with them and teasing that person too.”) The scale captured all eight moral disengagement mechanisms described by Bandura (2016) . CFAs with the MLM estimator displayed adequate fit: (grade 5: χ 2 (135) = 392.018, p  < 0.001, CFI = 0.90, RMSEA = 0.067; 90% CI [0.059, 0.074], SRMR = 0.055; grade 6: χ 2 (135) = 405.179, p  < 0.001, CFI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.063; 90% CI [0.056, 0.070], SRMR = 0.046). For the current sample, Cronbach’s α was 0.87 in the fifth and 0.89 in the sixth grades. Therefore, the mean score of all items was computed as an index for moral disengagement. This measured the students’ overall tendency to morally disengage in peer aggression situations.

Student–teacher relationship quality

Student-teacher relationship quality (STRQ) was measured in grade 5 (T1) with a 13-item self-report scale, specifically developed in Swedish for the overarching project. The scale has demonstrated adequate psychometric properties among Swedish school children ( Forsberg et al., 2023 ). The students were asked to rate the extent to which they agreed (1 =  Strongly disagree to 7 =  Strongly agree ) with each of the 13 items. Seven items were positively worded to capture positive student–teacher relationship qualities, and six were negatively worded to capture negative student–teacher relationship qualities (as perceived by the student). Some example items are: “My teachers really care about me” (positive STRQ) and “My teachers do not like me” (negative STRQ). The negatively worded items were reversed and the mean score of all thirteen items was computed as an index variable. Thus, higher values on the index variable represent a positive relationship. CFA with the MLM estimator (two factors and accounting for the nested structure) displayed adequate fit: χ 2 (64) = 364.825, p  < 0.001, CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.083; 90% CI [0.074, 0.091], SRMR = 0.048. Cronbach’s α for the whole scale (with reversed items) was 0.94.

Collective moral disengagement (CMD) was measured in grade 5 (T1) with an 18-item self-report scale, specifically developed in Swedish for the overarching project, that has demonstrated adequate psychometric properties among Swedish school children ( Alsaadi et al., 2018 ; Bjärehed et al., 2021 ; Sjögren et al., 2021a ; Bjärehed, 2022 ). The scale consisted of the same items as those measuring individual moral disengagement. However, to capture the collective dimension, this scale used the same procedure as in Gini et al.’s (2014b) classroom CMD scale and asked: “In your class, how many students think that…?” which the students then answered by selecting one of the following response categories: “None,” “About one quarter,” “About half,” “About three quarters,” and “Everyone.” At the individual level, the scale represented the individual’s perception of the degree to which moral disengagement was shared among peers in their classroom (referred to as student-perceived collective moral disengagement ; Gini et al., 2014a ). CFA with the MLM estimator (accounting for the nested structure) displayed adequate fit: χ 2 (135) = 558.574, p  < 0.001, CFI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.070; 90% CI [0.064, 0.077], SRMR = 0.043. Cronbach’s α for the current sample was 0.92. Collective moral disengagement as a classroom-level construct was obtained by calculating the average score of all classroom members’ mean scores.

To measure authoritative teaching in grade 5 (T1), we used two subscales from the 15-item Authoritative Classroom Climate Scale ( Thornberg et al., 2018 ). This scale was specifically developed in Swedish for the overarching project and has demonstrated adequate psychometric properties among Swedish school children ( Thornberg et al., 2018 ). The scale consists of two subscales of authoritative teaching: teacher support (4 items, e.g., “our teachers really care about the students,” “our teachers really give the students good help and support”) and teacher structure (4 items, e.g., “our teachers bring order and undisturbed working atmosphere in the classroom,” “our teachers make clear demands on students”). The students were asked to rate the extent to which they agreed (1 =  Strongly disagree to 7 =  Strongly agree ) with the eight statements. CFA with the MLM estimator (two factors and accounting for the nested structure) displayed adequate fit: χ 2 (19) = 68.751, p  < 0.001, CFI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.044; 90% CI [0.036, 0.052], SRMR = 0.021. Cronbach’s α for the current sample was 0.91. As with the scale measuring collective moral disengagement, we calculated each student’s mean and then averaged the scores for each classroom.

Control variables

Gender and immigrant background were included as control variables at the individual level. The students were asked whether they identified as a girl or a boy (girl = 0, boy = 1). For immigrant background, defined as not being born in Sweden or having two foreign-born parents, the students were asked whether they and their parents were born in Sweden. From these answers, a dummy variable was created indicating whether the students had a Swedish or immigrant background (0 = Swedish background, 1 = Immigrant background).

The students ( N  = 1,373) were nested within classrooms ( M  = 108). Thus, multilevel modeling techniques were used to analyze the data. This allowed us to disentangle individual-level and classroom-level effects on grade 6 moral disengagement (MD6). The individual-level variables were student-teacher relationship quality (STRQ5), immigrant background, gender, and moral disengagement (MD5), all reported in grade 5. The classroom-level variables examined were authoritative teaching (AUTH5) and collective moral disengagement (CMD5), also reported in grade 5.

First, we estimated an unconditional model with a random intercept. In this model, we estimated the overall classroom-level variance in moral disengagement (MD6). To test whether greater student-teacher relationship quality (STRQ5) predicted greater moral disengagement (MD6) 1 year later ( Hypothesis 3 ), we added the individual-level variables as fixed effects (Model 1). Thus, this model examined the influence of student-teacher relationship quality in grade 5 on grade 6 moral disengagement while controlling for grade 5 moral disengagement, gender, and immigrant background.

To test whether greater authoritative teaching ( Hypothesis 2 ) and less collective moral disengagement ( Hypothesis 1 ) at the classroom level would predict less moral disengagement 1 year later, the two grade 5 classroom variables (AUTH5 and CMD5) were added as fixed effects. That is, in model 2, we examined the contribution of authoritative teaching and collective moral disengagement on grade 6 moral disengagement, over and above the individual’s student-teacher relationship quality (STRQ5), and the control variables. Lastly, in Model 3, we added the four cross-level interaction effects between moral disengagement, student-teacher relationship quality, authoritative teaching, and collective moral disengagement (MD5 × AUTH5, STRQ5 × AUTH5, IMD5 × CMD5, and STRQ5 × CMD5). This final model examined whether the effects of the individual-level variables differed depending on different classroom levels of authoritative teaching and collective moral disengagement.

We examined model fit improvement for each new model to assess the added variables’ explanatory value to the overall model. To help interpretation, the individual-level variables (except immigrant background and gender) were grand-mean centered, whereas the classroom-level variables were centered around the mean of all classrooms. All multilevel regression analyses were conducted in RStudio (version 2023.06.2) with the package lme4 and the restricted maximum likelihood estimator (REML). All models were refitted with the maximum likelihood estimator (ML) to examine model improvement.

Descriptive statistics and correlations

Descriptive statistics and correlations of the individual-level and classroom-level variables are presented in Tables 1 , 2 . Moral disengagement in grade 5 was positively correlated with grade 6 moral disengagement ( r  = 0.54, p  < 0.001). In contrast, student-teacher relationship quality in grade 5 was negatively correlated with moral disengagement in grade 5 ( r  = −0.42, p  < 0.001) and grade 6 ( r  = −0.38, p  < 0.001). In other words, students with better student-teacher relationship quality in the fifth grade were more likely to score lower on moral disengagement in both grade 5 and grade 6. At the classroom level, collective moral disengagement in grade 5 was positively associated with the class mean of moral disengagement in grade 6 ( r  = 0.61, p  < 0.001), whereas authoritative teaching in grade 5 was negatively associated with the class mean of moral disengagement in grade 6 ( r  = −0.50, p  < 0.001). Thus, classrooms with greater authoritative teaching and classrooms with less collective moral disengagement were more likely to have a lower class mean of moral disengagement than other classrooms 1 year later. In addition, there was a negative correlation at the classroom level between authoritative teaching and collective moral disengagement in grade 5 ( r  = −0.71, p  < 0.001), which means that collective moral disengagement tended to be lower in classrooms where teachers displayed greater authoritative teaching.

Table 1 . Correlations, means, and standard deviations for individual-level variables.

Table 2 . Correlations, means, and standard deviations for classroom-level variables.

Multilevel regression analyses

Calculations of the intraclass coefficient (ICC) revealed variation at the classroom level, accounting for about 9% of the total variance in moral disengagement in the sixth grade. Therefore, the use of multilevel modeling was justified. As described earlier, Model 1 examined the influence of student-teacher relationship quality in grade 5 on grade 6 moral disengagement while controlling for grade 5 moral disengagement, gender, and immigrant background ( Hypothesis 3 ). In Model 2, Hypotheses 1 and 2 were examined. In the third model, interaction effects were added and examined in an exploratory manner. Reported coefficients, as presented in Table 3 and in the text, are unstandardized and thus indicate the expected change in moral disengagement for each unit of change in the independent variable. The results of the multilevel modeling are summarized in Table 3 .

Table 3 . Multilevel estimates for models predicting student moral disengagement in grade 6.

At the individual level, our results revealed that girls ( b  = 0.109, SE = 0.03, p  < 0.001) and students who reported less moral disengagement ( b  = 0.373, SE = 0.03, p  < 0.001) and greater student-teacher relationship quality in grade 5 ( b  = −0.096, SE = 0.02, p  < 0.001) were inclined to score lower on moral disengagement in grade 6 (see Table 3 , Model 3). In other words, we found support for our third hypothesis, as the quality of student-teacher relationship at the individual level negatively predicted students’ moral disengagement 1 year later, even when controlling for their moral disengagement in grade 5 and other variables in the model.

Additionally, we found support for our first hypothesis, as classroom levels of collective moral disengagement in grade 5 positively predicted individual students’ moral disengagement in grade 6 ( b = 0.285, SE = 0.09, p  < 0.01). Thus, students in classrooms characterized by higher levels of collective moral disengagement were more likely to score higher on moral disengagement 1 year later compared to students in classrooms with lower levels of collective moral disengagement in grade 5. Contrary to Hypothesis 2 , authoritative teaching in grade 5 did not significantly predict moral disengagement in grade 6. However, interaction effects were found for three of the four interactions tested (see Figures 1 – 3 ).

Figure 1 . Cross-level interaction between moral disengagement and authoritative teaching predicting moral disengagement in grade 6.

Figure 2 . Cross-level interaction between student-teacher relationship quality and authoritative teaching predicting moral disengagement in grade 6.

Figure 3 . Cross-level interaction between student-teacher relationship quality and collective moral disengagement predicting moral disengagement in grade 6.

First, there was a significant interaction between students’ moral disengagement and authoritative teaching in grade 5 ( b  = −0.26, SE = 0.05, p  < 0.001). To interpret these significant interaction effects, we computed simple slopes (see Preacher et al., 2006 ) for low (–1SD) and high (+1SD) levels of authoritative teaching. As shown in Figure 1 , the effect of moral disengagement in grade 5 on moral disengagement in grade 6 was stronger in classrooms characterized by low authoritative teaching ( b low  = 0.53, p  < 0.001) compared with classrooms characterized as high in authoritative teaching ( b high  = 0.21, p  < 0.001). Second, and as shown in Figure 2 , we found a significant interaction between student-teacher relationship quality and authoritative teaching in grade 5 ( b  = −0.13, SE = 0.03, p  < 0.001). Simple slope analysis for low (−1SD) and high classroom levels (+1SD) of authoritative teaching showed that in classrooms with high authoritative teaching, better student-teacher relationship quality was associated with less moral disengagement in the sixth grade ( b high  = −0.17, p  < 0.001), whereas in classrooms with low levels of authoritative teaching, grade 6 moral disengagement did not vary as a function of student-teacher relationship quality ( b low  = −0.02, p = 0 .31). Lastly, and as illustrated in Figure 3 , there was a significant interaction between student-teacher relationship quality and collective moral disengagement in grade 5 ( b = −0.340, SE = 0.09, p  < 0.001). The simple slope for low (–1SD) collective moral disengagement was not significant ( b low  = −0.02, p = 0 .42), whereas the simple slope for high (+1SD) collective moral disengagement was negative and significant ( b high  = −0.17, p  < 0.001). That is, in classrooms with high levels of collective moral disengagement, better student-teacher relationship quality was associated with lower levels of moral disengagement 1 year later.

With reference to social cognitive theory ( Bandura, 2016 ), children can develop their moral standards, self-regulatory processes, and behaviors but can also learn to use moral disengagement mechanisms from socialization agents such as teachers and peers in school. Understanding the antecedents of moral disengagement is crucial, given its well-established link to school bullying ( Killer et al., 2019 ; Luo and Bussey, 2023 ; Thornberg, 2023 ) and peer aggression more generally ( Gini et al., 2014a ; Luo and Bussey, 2023 ). In alignment with social cognitive theory and reciprocal determinism ( Bandura, 2016 ), this study offers insights into the complex interplay between personal factors, including cognitions, and social factors, that are transmitted through the influence of peers and teachers. It examines the impact of specific school microsystem factors ( Bronfenbrenner, 1979 ) on the development of moral disengagement in pre-adolescence, specifically focusing on collective moral disengagement, authoritative teaching, and the quality of student-teacher relationships. To our knowledge, the present study has been the first to examine how these factors, uniquely and interactively, predict moral disengagement within a longitudinal design.

As hypothesized, our study revealed that students in classrooms with higher levels of collective moral disengagement in fifth grade were more prone to endorse morally disengaged beliefs about peer aggression 1 year later ( Hypothesis 1 ). Thus, collective moral disengagement is a contextual factor that affects not only behaviors such as bullying ( Gini et al., 2014b ; Kollerová et al., 2018 ; Thornberg et al., 2021 ; Bjärehed, 2022 ) but also socio-cognitive processes, such as an individual’s moral disengagement. This underscores the significant influence of the peer group on the development of moral disengagement among pre-adolescents. Our finding adds to previous research by suggesting that not only do friends tend to become more similar in moral disengagement levels over time in early adolescence ( Caravita et al., 2014 ; Kim et al., 2024 ), but pre-adolescents who belong to a classroom with higher levels of collective moral disengagement are at an increased risk of developing greater individual moral disengagement.

While students’ moral disengagement is in itself a risk factor for peer aggression and bullying ( Gini et al., 2014a ; Luo and Bussey, 2023 ), and a predictor of later bullying perpetration (for a review see Thornberg, 2023 ), collective moral disengagement at the classroom level has also been shown to be associated with bullying behaviors, over and above individual moral disengagement ( Bjärehed et al., 2021 ; Sjögren et al., 2021a ). In addition to this existing research, and a recent longitudinal study showing that classroom collective moral disengagement explains between-classroom variability in later aggression ( Gini et al., 2022 ), the current findings contribute to the literature by demonstrating that classroom collective moral disengagement also predicts students’ moral disengagement over time. In other words, collective moral disengagement at the classroom level can be linked to a negative development of students’ moral cognition and behavior.

Although authoritative teaching was negatively associated with classroom levels of moral disengagement 1 year later in the bivariate analysis, there was no significant direct effect of authoritative teaching in fifth grade on moral disengagement in the sixth grade in the final model ( Hypothesis 2 ). One study has found that students perceiving school rules as transparent and fair are less likely to activate mechanisms of moral disengagement, resulting in decreased engagement in negative behaviors ( Ivaniushina and Alexandrov, 2022 ). The inconsistency with our findings may be explained by the focus of our study on students’ collective perceptions of their teacher’s teaching style rather than individual students’ perceptions. Ivaniushina and Alexandrov’s study also included a slightly older sample (ages 12–15). Further, they focused on structure as a school characteristic, while our measure included both structure and support and specifically examined the teacher and classroom setting. It is also plausible that support and structure are differentially associated with moral disengagement. In a Swedish study with grade 4 students, Kloo et al. (2023) distinguished between these two dimensions of authoritative teaching; their results suggest that teacher support drives the negative association between authoritative teaching and bullying perpetration. For example, high teacher structure might impact bullying through reduced moral disengagement, as proposed by Ivaniushina and Alexandrov (2022) , while a classroom characterized by support (i.e., warmth, open communication, and caring) might be directly linked to lower levels of bullying and victimization ( Lau et al., 2018 ; Thornberg et al., 2018 ; Kloo et al., 2023 ). In addition to the impact of collective moral disengagement at the classroom level found in the present study, another reasonable explanation could be that students’ perception of their relationship quality with the teacher ( Gao et al., 2024 ) is a more influential factor for their development and changes in moral disengagement over time than the overall teaching style at the classroom level. This suggestion is supported by the finding in our study that more positive, warm, and supportive student-teacher relationships predicted lower levels of moral disengagement.

The current results suggest that a higher quality of student-teacher relationships may protect against subsequent increases in moral disengagement ( Hypothesis 3 ). This indicates that how teachers establish and maintain relationships with their students, and how this relationship quality varies across their student cohort, may play an essential role in their students’ development of moral disengagement. This finding holds significance, particularly in light of the well-established connection between moral disengagement and later involvement in school bullying, as identified in other studies ( Thornberg, 2023 ). In our study, students with more negative, less supportive, and less caring student-teacher relationships were more likely to exhibit elevated levels of moral disengagement in the sixth grade, regardless of their initial level of moral disengagement. This result expands upon previous cross-sectional findings demonstrating a positive link between student-teacher relationships and moral disengagement ( Gao et al., 2024 ) that also incorporate two time points within a longitudinal design.

In Gao et al.’s study, the association between student-teacher relationships and moral disengagement was stronger in early adolescence (11–14 years) compared to middle adolescence (15–17 years). From a developmental standpoint, adolescents progressively gain independence, thus suggesting that the influence of adults, including teachers, on their socialization might diminish later in adolescence. Consistent with this notion, prior longitudinal studies have indicated that moral disengagement is influenced by factors in home environments until late childhood ( Hyde et al., 2010 ), after which it becomes more influenced by peers ( Caravita et al., 2014 ). Our study adds to this literature by suggesting that teachers are influential socialization agents impacting students’ tendency to morally disengage in pre-adolescence. Not only can higher student-teacher relationship quality be associated with less bullying ( ten Bokkel et al., 2023 ) and peer aggression ( Krause and Smith, 2023 ). According to our study it can also be associated with less moral disengagement. The literature, in turn, has linked low moral disengagement with less bullying ( Killer et al., 2019 ; Thornberg, 2023 ) and peer aggression ( Gini et al., 2014a ; Luo and Bussey, 2023 ). Altogether, this could be interpreted in terms of what Bandura (2016) calls triadic codetermination, which means that “human functioning is a product of the interplay of personal influences, the behavior individuals engage in, and the environmental forces that impinge on them” (p. 6). Personal influences would here be moral disengagement, behavior would refer to bullying or peer aggression, and environmental forces the student-teacher relationship quality. Our study contributes to the literature by showing that student-teacher relationship quality negatively predicted moral disengagement 1 year later. Since our study focused on changes between the ages of 11 and 12, it would be desirable to include a more extended period in future studies, both with younger school children and those in later adolescence. This could provide insights into the potentially changing influence of student-teacher relationship quality on moral disengagement across different developmental stages.

Cross-level interaction effects

In our study, three out of four tested cross-level interactions significantly predicted moral disengagement 1 year later: the interaction between moral disengagement and authoritative teaching, the interaction between student-teacher relationship quality and authoritative teaching, and the interaction between student-teacher relationship quality and collective moral disengagement.

Although we did not find that authoritative teaching at the classroom level predicted subsequent moral disengagement (when controlling for collective moral disengagement at the classroom level and student-teacher relationship quality, gender, immigrant background, and previous moral disengagement at the individual level), authoritative teaching was found to moderate the effects of moral disengagement and student-teacher relationship quality in grade 5 on subsequent moral disengagement. In classrooms with less authoritative teaching, the impact of moral disengagement on subsequent moral disengagement was more pronounced. This finding suggests that an authoritative teaching style can act as a buffer against a negative spiral of escalating moral disengagement over time, especially for students who already exhibit high levels of moral disengagement in grade 5.

Our findings further indicate that lower student-teacher relationship quality in grade 5 is associated with higher moral disengagement in grade 6. However, this association was only significant in classrooms with high levels of authoritative teaching. In other words, this result suggests that having poor student-teacher relationships when belonging to classrooms where teachers are high in authoritative teaching is a risk factor of moral disengagement. With reference to the self-categorization theory ( Turner and Oakes, 1989 ; Abrams and Hogg, 1990 ), a possible explanation for our findings might be that the few students who had poor relationships with their teachers compared themselves with the majority of their classmates who had more positive relationships with their teachers due to the authoritative teaching style (teachers showed greater warmth, care, support, and responsiveness to students in general). It is plausible to assume that these everyday social comparisons in school increase the risk of developing a sense of non-belonging in the classroom context together with a more deviant social identity. As a part of their self-categorization process ( Turner and Oakes, 1989 ), students with poor teacher relationships would be prone to develop a self-serving bias of favoring the social category they identify themselves with (e.g., anti-school, antisocial, or rejected in-group) while devaluating the majority group of others in the classroom and other peers whom they perceive belong to the same well-adjusted outgroup. These “upward comparisons” ( Laninga-Wijnen et al., 2023 ) might, in this case, contribute to an antisocial trajectory and a greater need for moral disengagement to maintain positive self-esteem and avoid self-sanctions.

In the final regression model, collective moral disengagement at the classroom level and the quality of the student-teacher relationship at the individual level were uniquely linked to moral disengagement in sixth grade. Nevertheless, the extent to which student-teacher relationship quality predicted moral disengagement also depended on the levels of classroom collective moral disengagement. Previous studies have demonstrated that collective moral disengagement can act as a protective group property within the classroom, reducing the risk of bullying perpetration ( Gini et al., 2014b ; Kollerová et al., 2018 ; Thornberg et al., 2019 ; Thornberg et al., 2021 ; Bjärehed, 2022 ). Our study contributes to this body of literature by suggesting that students with high student-teacher relationship quality score low on subsequent moral disengagement independently of classroom levels of collective moral disengagement. In contrast, students with low student-teacher relationship quality tend to score higher on subsequent moral disengagement in classrooms with high levels of collective moral disengagement compared to students in classrooms with low collective moral disengagement. Thus, having a positive student-teacher relationship appears to be an important protective factor against moral disengagement. The interaction effect in our results suggest that students who had positive, warm, and supportive relationships with their teachers were also better equipped to resist the bad influence of classroom collective moral disengagement on their moral development. One year later they still showed low levels of moral disengagement despite belonging to a classroom with high collective moral disengagement.

Limitations

The current study fills an important gap in the literature by examining the role played by specific school microsystem factors ( Bronfenbrenner, 1979 ) on the development of moral disengagement in pre-adolescence. Nevertheless, some methodological limitations need to be addressed. First, all the studied variables were assessed using self-report measures. Self-reports are vulnerable to social desirability biases, and there may be a risk that students underreport their moral disengagement while exaggerating how common it is among classmates. Nevertheless, as both moral disengagement and collective moral disengagement relate to students’ perceptions and beliefs, self-reports may be the best way to capture these constructs. Further, some controversy exists about whether students should rate their teachers’ behaviors ( den Brok et al., 2006 ), like authoritative teaching. Thus, future studies could examine whether the current findings hold when teacher reports and/or direct observations are used to capture authoritative teaching.

Although our study implemented a longitudinal design, only two time points over a relatively short period of 1 year were included. A more extensive longitudinal approach with additional time points could be employed to enhance the robustness of our findings. This would provide a more comprehensive understanding of the observed associations and enable us to capture potential developmental trends or variations over an extended period. In addition, changes in moral disengagement may also be influenced by several factors not included in the current study.

Furthermore, no classroom mean score of authoritative teaching was below 3.9 (max 7); for collective moral disengagement, no classroom score exceeded 2.6 (max 5). This suggests that our study compared classrooms characterized as relatively authoritative and with relatively low levels of collective moral disengagement. Consequently, caution is advised when generalizing findings to classrooms characterized by a lower degree of authoritative teaching and higher levels of collective moral disengagement. Finally, our study exclusively involved students in Swedish schools. Future studies should investigate the transferability of these findings to other countries and cultural contexts.

Practical implications

The current findings have implications for teacher educators and school personnel. First, fostering a positive and supportive relationship between students and teachers seems crucial in minimizing a negative developmental spiral of moral disengagement in pre-adolescence. Teacher educators should, therefore, focus on equipping pre-service teachers with the skills and knowledge to build positive and supportive relationships with their students ( Bouchard and Smith, 2017 ). Teachers who engage in authoritative teaching as a part of their bullying prevention strategy (see Lau et al., 2018 ; Thornberg et al., 2018 ; Kloo et al., 2023 ) need to make the effort to build warm, caring, and responsive relationships with all of the students in their classroom and include targeted actions for students they fail to reach and with whom they fail to develop supportive relationships. To prevent an adverse moral climate, pre-service teachers and teachers can also benefit from professional training on influencing group dynamics ( Hymel et al., 2015 ). This training should include strategies that proactively prevent collective moral disengagement from emerging in the first place and promote a moral climate defined by active engagement and social responsibility. In line with the democratic mission ( Swedish Education Act, SFS 2010:800, 2010 ), teachers could integrate discussions about ethics and moral decision-making into their ordinary lessons by making students aware of moral disengagement mechanisms and how these can contribute to explaining a range of negative, inhumane and aggressive behaviors, including bullying and peer aggression, delinquency/criminality, political oppression, terrorism, genocide, and war ( Bandura, 2016 ). When students are encouraged to reflect on ethical considerations and to identify moral disengagement mechanisms, they might be more likely to develop a moral compass and resist moral disengagement.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author.

Ethics statement

The studies involving humans were approved by Regional Ethical Review Board at Linköping. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. Written informed consent for participation in this study was provided by the participants’ legal guardians/next of kin.

Author contributions

MB: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. BS: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. RT: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. GG: Writing – review & editing. TP: Writing – review & editing.

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by a grant awarded to RT from the Swedish Research Council (grant number D0775301).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: moral disengagement, collective moral disengagement, authoritative teaching, student-teacher relationship quality, bullying, peer aggression

Citation: Bjärehed M, Sjögren B, Thornberg R, Gini G and Pozzoli T (2024) A short-term longitudinal study on the development of moral disengagement among schoolchildren: the role of collective moral disengagement, authoritative teaching, and student-teacher relationship quality. Front. Psychol . 15:1381015. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1381015

Received: 02 February 2024; Accepted: 09 April 2024; Published: 01 May 2024.

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*Correspondence: Marlene Bjärehed, [email protected]

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