Exploring Teachers’ Morality in Digital Classrooms: A Quantitative Study

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17011209

Abstract

The rapid integration of digital technologies in education has transformed teachers’ roles, positioning them not only as facilitators of knowledge but also as moral agents responsible for ethical guidance in digital classrooms. While prior studies on Pakistani teachers emphasize digital competence and pedagogical readiness, limited attention has been paid to the moral orientations and ethical responsibilities of educators in technology-mediated contexts. This quantitative study explores teacher morality in digital classrooms by examining ethical sensitivity, moral responsibility, and integrity among 250 teachers from public and private higher education institutions in Lahore. Data were collected using a self-developed, expert-validated questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS, yielding responses from 233 participants. Findings reveal that teachers generally acknowledge the importance of moral values in digital pedagogy, yet many remain neutral on integrating structured moral discussions in online classes. Respondents expressed concerns over increased ethical challenges, including privacy violations, cyber harassment, inequitable access to resources, and the disruptive use of mobile phones. Nonetheless, results indicate that teacher morality manifested through fairness, respect, and care positively influences student engagement and trust in digital environments. The study highlights gaps in formal training on digital ethics and underscores the need for professional development programs, institutional guidelines, and policy frameworks that embed ethical literacy alongside digital competence. These findings contribute to understanding the intersection of morality and digital pedagogy, offering insights for sustaining equitable and ethically sound educational practices in Pakistan and beyond.

Key words: Ethical morality, digital technologies, teachers, higher education.