Pre-Service Teachers’ Views on Values Education: A Qualitative Study in Four Universities in South-Central Chile

Abstract

Values are cultural tools that pre-service teachers can use in situations that require discernment and integrity. Promoting an axiological framework in the training of future educators is an urgent necessity for coexistence in today’s world. This study aimed to understand the preferences and meanings that third-year students studying to become primary school teachers of mathematics, Spanish, and English as a foreign language attribute to values, as well as how values are transmitted in degree programs and at selected universities. An exploratory case study was used as the research design. Thirty-two students were selected using purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was reached. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the participants. Reflective thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed three themes: students’ value preferences are conditioned by their pedagogical training; values, as constructions of shared meaning, are conceived as normative guidelines that orient human action in all its dimensions; and teacher educators transmit values linked to the pedagogical role and teacher identity, while universities emphasize moral values oriented toward professional development, thus articulating two complementary levels of training. The study provides an empirical framework for moving from spontaneous value education to intentional communication, both in teacher training curricula and in the educational activities of each university.

1. Introduction

Values are guiding principles that allow people to adopt a stance toward concepts, objects, circumstances, and ways of acting, evaluating them as desirable and valuable or, conversely, undesirable and incorrect (McDonnell, 2023). Values permeate all dimensions of human existence. They act as guides that orient individual and collective actions according to a specific historical context and sociocultural expressions. Halstead and Taylor (2000) point out that values constitute “essential principles and convictions that function as general guidelines for behavior, criteria by which certain actions are evaluated as right or desirable” (p. 169). They also provide a framework for observing, interpreting, and understanding the environment in which each person’s daily life unfolds. During this analytical process, people collectively configure value systems that express the fundamental problems that societies must address and become benchmarks for guiding and regulating human behavior (Inglehart, 1998). In initial teacher training, these axiological frameworks are activated in everyday pedagogical decisions (e.g., treatment, assessment, inclusion, and coexistence), thus influencing how pre-service teachers understand their role and act professionally in the classroom. Education and values are reciprocally linked to human dimensions, as education becomes a good to the extent that it facilitates the integral development of the person. Values play a crucial role in education, as they mirror the societal framework and dynamics where education occurs, propelling it toward achieving excellence. Teaching is a moral activity, and the training of future teachers should focus not only on disciplinary and pedagogical aspects but also on ethical and value-based aspects (Hollenstein & Brühwiler, 2024). Values education is defined as an educational activity in which students learn certain values and principles of morality (Halstead & Taylor, 2000; Lovat, 2021). Its purpose is to improve children’s and young people’s understanding and critical reflection on values so that they can incorporate them into their habitual behavior and act accordingly as active and responsible members of the society to which they belong (Thornberg, 2008). Value education within university institutions is an essential task, both for its impact on the comprehensive training of professionals and for the ethical implications that accompany the practice of the profession in diverse work contexts (González, 2021; Pérez, 2023). Within the framework of the professional training of pre-service teachers, values education plays a central role, fostering the development of a critical and reflective perspective oriented toward the various aspects of professional teaching practice.

It is necessary to reflect on the most appropriate strategies to strengthen the assimilation of values in pre-service teachers, with the aim of inducing them to apply these values in their actions and communicate them effectively to their students in the classroom. Educators are responsible for the moral education of children and adolescents (Halstead & Taylor, 2000). Value education is a complex and multidimensional task that requires an intentional and integrated process oriented towards the holistic development of student teachers. We share the idea that values have a cultural dimension, given that they vary according to the era and reflect both spatiotemporal coordinates and the human identity and culture in which they are immersed (Gervilla, 2010). Internationally, values education is recognized as a fundamental element of teacher training, essential for addressing contemporary challenges related to technological advances, artificial intelligence, and cultural diversity in the classroom (Bonifácio et al., 2025; Jerónimo Sánchez-Beato et al., 2023). In this regard, the need to train educators who serve as ethical role models is emphasized, integrating values both into the development of their professional identity and into the promotion of democratic coexistence (Sahin, 2019). However, despite its presence in educational regulations and discourse, the pedagogical implementation of values education remains limited, revealing a discrepancy between stated objectives and actual practices in initial teacher training (Jerónimo Sánchez-Beato et al., 2023; González-Gijón et al., 2020; Tran et al., 2021). Furthermore, evidence indicates that values education not only facilitates the development of a critical understanding of the ethical implications of the teaching profession (Stojanovska, 2024) but also influences teaching practices in the social, intellectual, and affective dimensions (Colomo Magaña & Gabarda Méndez, 2021). In this context, teachers implicitly transmit values, which underscores the need for intentional and structured axiological training within the university curriculum (Cívico-Ariza et al., 2020). However, in various contexts, this training is often approached superficially or instrumentally, sometimes under political or market pressures aimed at addressing behavioral problems, which complicates its integration as a fundamental component of teacher training programs.

In the Chilean educational context, evidence indicates that values education is often developed unintentionally and in a fragmented manner, lacking an explicit curricular connection to democratic moral formation (Meza Pardo & Guerrero Chinga, 2016). Despite its recognized importance as a component of teacher training for addressing contemporary challenges and its contribution to the holistic development and commitment to the common good among university students (Arellano Saavedra et al., 2022, 2026), significant shortcomings persist in the initial teacher training. These shortcomings are related to the explicit articulation of the values being promoted, the construction of their meanings, and the institutional and pedagogical mechanisms that facilitate their teaching. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the preferences and meanings that third-year students studying to become primary school teachers, mathematics teachers, and Spanish and English as foreign language teachers attribute to values, as well as how these values are transmitted in selected degree programs and universities.

Therefore, the objective of this study is to answer the following questions:

• What values do third-year students in teacher-training programs at the selected universities hold?
• What meanings do third-year students in teacher training programs attribute to values?
• How are values communicated in teacher-training programs and at the selected universities?

2. Literature Review

2.1. Theoretical Review

This study was based on sociocultural theories. This theory allows us to understand that human learning is not an isolated or decontextualized phenomenon, but rather is closely linked to the cultural, historical, and institutional frameworks in which it develops (Vygotsky, 1978; Mercer & Howe, 2012; Kahlke et al., 2019). Values can be based on norms that are significant in the family, society, peer groups, and educational settings, as well as on discourses disseminated through the media (Rogoff, 2003). From a sociocultural perspective, student teachers internalize values through their environment, especially through interactions with teacher educators and other students (Dasoo & Henning, 2012; Opoku et al., 2024; Lavender, 2026). This occurs in both the disciplinary and pedagogical processes. However, it is in the context of their professional practice, both in the preparation and didactic application phases, that these experiences are most evident (Veugelers, 2000). In this study, we focus on the values chosen by student teachers and the construction of meaning around them, as well as how values are communicated in teacher training programs and the universities where they study. These processes are profoundly influenced by contextual conditions and the social environment framed within specific cultures (Kahlke et al., 2019). Vygotsky (1978) points out that “in the child’s cultural development, every function appears twice: first in the social sphere and then in the individual sphere; first between people (interpsychological) and then within the child (intrapsychological)” (p. 57). This theory provides a conceptual framework for analyzing the transmission of values in specific contexts, considering the particularities of a culture’s social fabric. Bruner (1996) pointed out that culture provides interpretive frameworks that allow individuals to construct meaning, transforming learning into a cultural activity that elaborates and reconstructs knowledge in specific contexts. Thus, the values adopted by pre-service teachers are not universal but rather shaped by their participation in contextualized social practices, in which culture and interpersonal relationships play a key role in the construction of meaning (Kahlke et al., 2019). Choudhary and Bakshi (2025) argue that the sociocultural paradigm enhances the internalization of values through active participation, the construction of social meaning, and contextual application. The relationship between social activity and individual thought is a crucial and distinctive aspect of information processing that underpins thinking development (Mercer & Howe, 2012).

Inglehart’s (1998) theory of values states that culture is an organized network of attitudes, values, and behaviors discussed and agreed upon by a society and transmitted from one generation to the next. Thus, “culture is learned and varies from society to society” (Inglehart, 1998, p. 18). Language plays a central role in this process, as it allows for the sharing of cultural models and interpretations of the world. Cole (1999, p. 121) points out that cultural models are: “…intersubjectively shared cultural schemas. These function to interpret experience and guide action in a wide variety of contexts.” Thus, the axiological matrix present in each cultural model fosters the construction of a cultural identity. Säljö (2009) notes that knowledge is a social construct, arising from interactions between people, mediated by oral and written language, and organized in institutions such as schools. Lavender (2026) emphasized that teaching should be managed by considering the value of relationships with others, the community context in which it develops, and the personal identity of individuals.

Habermas’s (1995) theory of communicative action was incorporated to examine and delve deeper into students’ responses regarding the communication of values. Habermas describes two types of social action based on different intentions: communicative and strategic action. Communicative action is oriented toward mutual understanding, in which a consensus can be reached through the best argument. Within this framework, interpersonal relationships are organized around openness, reciprocity and understanding. In contrast, strategic actions are characterized by their orientation toward specific goals, and their intentionality lies in achieving objectives. A person who acts strategically adopts an instrumental attitude toward others and seeks to influence or manipulate their actions (Fultner, 2011; Habermas, 1995). Choudhary and Bakshi (2025) point out that communicating values requires the implementation of high-quality dialogue in the initial processes of teacher training. These are understood as pedagogical interactions that allow students and teachers to critically examine the diverse situations encountered in school life. Finally, the incorporation of Gervilla’s (2010) proposal as an axiological basis, from a sociocultural perspective, considers that values must be understood within a specific context and at a particular historical moment (Kahlke et al., 2019). Gervilla (2010) defines a value as “a real or ideal quality, desired or desirable for its goodness, whose estimative force guides human life” (p. 134). Similarly, this definition of value conceptually clarifies the concept of the person as the subject of holistic education: “An animal of emotional intelligence, unique and free in their decisions, of an open or relational nature, in space and time” (Gervilla, 2010, p. 52). The animal dimension gives rise to bodily values, whereas emotional intelligence leads to intellectual and affective values. Moral, individual, and aesthetic values arise from singularity and freedom. Finally, social, political, ecological, instrumental, and religious values emerge from the open or relational nature of things. This axiological framework helps organize students’ value preferences.

2.2. Empirical Review

The various practices implemented at different educational levels, through which students learn values and morality, are often referred to as value education (Lovat et al., 2011; Lovat, 2021; Halstead & Taylor, 2000). Teacher educators can engage student teachers in learning values by incorporating the values and ethical practices present in degree programs and universities within a particular social context into the curriculum. Thornberg and Oguz (2013) found that a lack of teacher training and deficiencies in scientific grounding meant that the communication of values was based on personal experience and lacked a critical perspective. Teacher discourse on values is not based on specialized pedagogical frameworks, which hinders rigorous discussion of how these values are expressed in teaching practice. Puroila and Haho (2016) state that values are rarely conceptualized or reflected upon; rather, they are lived and communicated through practice. Insufficient knowledge limits the appropriate use of value communication, leading to the loss of its holistic formative character (Lovat, 2023).

Enslin and Hedge (2022) conducted a study of UK universities to identify the core values stated in institutional strategic objectives, visions, and missions. The results show that the set of values that distinguishes each institution is primarily used as a marketing tool and that, in practice, staff are not required to demonstrate the application of these values in their work. Dasoo (2023), in a study with trainee teachers, pointed out that school is the ideal environment for the practice of values; therefore, teachers are required to possess the necessary pedagogical knowledge to teach these values. From the outset, a growing number of people have understood that values education, given its close relationship with fundamental issues related to social and personal norms, is a subject of debate.

Value education can be developed both explicitly and implicitly (Avgitidou et al., 2024; Bonifácio et al., 2025). Explicit values education refers to the school’s official curriculum, teachers’ intentions, and specific teaching methods. In contrast, the implicit transmission of values occurs through everyday experiences at school, even if they are not part of the official curriculum. This implicit transmission, in its various forms, should focus on providing solutions to the demands of pedagogical practice, in which values must be learned holistically (Lovat et al., 2011; Thornberg, 2008). Teacher educators often transmit values to student teachers in their daily practice, frequently in a spontaneous manner. However, this problem represents a knowledge gap that has not been thoroughly studied regarding the need to investigate the preferences and meanings that students attribute to values and how these values are communicated in teacher training programmes and at the university level.

3. Materials and Methods

This research was conducted using a qualitative approach with an instrumental case study design (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011; Yin, 2018), with the aim of gaining a deep understanding of the preferences, meanings, and methods of value transmission in initial teacher training at universities in the south-central region of Chile. This design allowed for the analysis of the phenomenon in its complexity and in close relation to the institutional contexts in which it was configured. The choice of an instrumental case study is based on the fact that the study’s interest lies not in exhaustively describing each institution in isolation, but rather in using these contexts as environments that allow for understanding a broader educational phenomenon, such as value education in initial teacher training. In this sense, the design favors an interpretive and situated approach, consistent with the sociocultural theoretical framework guiding the research.

3.1. Participants

The study was conducted at four universities in the south-central region of Chile: Universidad Católica del Maule, Universidad del Bío-Bío, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, and Universidad Católica de Temuco (Table 1). These universities were selected based on their membership in an inter-university consortium for doctoral training in education. Thirty-two third-year teacher training students (specializing in Primary Education, Mathematics, Language and Literature, and English as a Foreign Language) participated in the study, selected through purposive sampling. The inclusion criteria were: (i) being a third-year student, (ii) belonging to one of the selected programs, and (iii) agreeing to participate voluntarily. The focus on third-year students is justified because it represents an intermediate stage of teacher training, in which students have developed significant formative experiences and begin to articulate theory and practice, positioning themselves as key informants of the phenomenon being studied. The participants’ ages ranged from 20 to 25 years (mean 22.76). The sample size was defined using analytical sufficiency criteria that are specific to qualitative research. Participant enrollment continued until theoretical saturation was reached, at which point information began to become redundant, and no new relevant analytical dimensions emerged. Saturation was considered achieved when no new codes emerged in the final transcripts of each program (Flores, 2020).

Table 1. Regional universities in the South-Central of Chile.

Degrees	Primary	Math	Spanish	English	Total
University
Catholic University 1. Maule	2	2	2	2	8
Catholic University 2. Concepción	2	2	2	2	8
Catholic University 3. Temuco	2	2	2	2	8
Public University. Bio-Bio	2	2	2	2	8
Total	8	8	8	8	32

3.2. Data Collection Method

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews designed to explore the preferences, meanings, and methods of transmitting values in the initial teacher training. This technique allowed access to the participants’ interpretations from a situated perspective. The interview guide was developed based on the research objectives and sociocultural theoretical framework. It was structured around three thematic axes: (i) value preferences, (ii) meanings attributed to values, and (iii) methods of communicating values. Open-ended questions were included, such as: “What values do you consider relevant in your training as a pre-service teachers?”; “What do these values mean to you?” and “How are they transmitted in your university training?”(Appendix A). The complete guide is presented in thematic tables in the appendices. The instrument was validated through expert review and piloted with participants of similar characteristics, allowing for adjustments to its clarity and sequence. The interviews lasted approximately 30–45 min and were conducted in person in designated spaces at each of the four universities, ensuring privacy. Fieldwork was conducted over four months. Regarding positionality, the interviews were conducted by researchers without a direct teaching relationship with the participants to avoid biases resulting from hierarchical relationships. The five researchers were affiliated with one of the four participating universities; therefore, they were positioned as institutional insiders with respect to that university and as outsiders concerning the other three. None of the researchers had a teaching, evaluative, supervisory, or direct dependency relationship with the student participants, an aspect addressed through collective reflexivity during the research process. A reflective stance was adopted regarding the researchers’ role in data production. Access to the participants was managed through the directors of the teacher-training colleges, who facilitated initial contact. Subsequently, direct communication was established with the students, and informed consent was obtained from them. To reduce potential social desirability bias, open-ended and non-directive questions were used, a climate of trust was fostered, and anonymity and confidentiality were guaranteed, emphasizing that there were no right or wrong answers to the questions. Finally, the interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim for subsequent analysis.

3.3. Data Analysis

Data analysis was conducted using reflective thematic analysis, following the approach proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006, 2014). This approach was selected because it allows for the identification, analysis, and interpretation of patterns of meaning within a qualitative corpus, considering both the explicit content of the discourse and the dimensions associated with participants’ experiences, practices, and sociocultural conditions. The analytical process was supported by ATLAS.ti software (Version 25), which was used to organize the transcripts, generate codes, retrieve coded segments, create analytical memos, and document the decisions made during the different phases of the analysis.

The analysis was conducted by three members of the research team, each with distinct roles throughout the process. Two researchers participated directly in the initial coding of the corpus, and a third researcher performed critical review, analytical auditing, and discrepancy resolution when disagreements among the coders arose. In the first stage, the two researchers read the transcripts in full to familiarize themselves with the empirical material, recorded initial impressions, and created reflective memos in ATLAS.ti. These memos allowed them to document emerging ideas, interpretive tensions, decisions regarding code grouping, and potential relationships with the sociocultural framework of the study.

Subsequently, an initial inductive coding process was conducted. In this phase, the two researchers independently coded 20% of the corpus, which was selected to represent the diversity of participants and experiences included in the study. This dual coding allowed them to compare their initial understanding of the units of meaning, review the clarity of the codes and examine the consistency of the coding process. To estimate the initial level of agreement between coders, Cohen’s kappa coefficient was calculated, yielding a value of 0.82, which indicates a good level of consistency in the initial application of the codes. This procedure was developed as a complementary strategy for consistency control and analytical transparency, as a transparency device for readers who are familiar with mixed-paradigm reporting.

The discrepancies identified during double coding were discussed in the analytical team meetings. In these sessions, text segments, code names, their conceptual scope, and their relevance to the research questions were reviewed. When persistent differences arose in the interpretation of a fragment or in the naming of a code, the third researcher intervened to facilitate discussion and contribute to a consensus decision. As a result of this process, a preliminary code guide was developed, which was understood as a flexible and evolving tool, not a closed codebook from the outset. This guide facilitated the subsequent coding of the corpus while maintaining the possibility of incorporating, merging, redefining, or eliminating codes as the analysis progressed.

Once an initial agreement on the coding logic was reached, the rest of the corpus was coded by the principal investigators, who held regular review meetings to discuss new codes, adjust definitions, and examine potential overlaps in the data. During this phase, the codes remained open and were subject to modification, consistent with the reflective thematic analysis. Relevant analytical decisions were recorded in memos in ATLAS.ti, including changes in code names, criteria for merging categories, interpretive tensions, and justifications for theme construction. This record strengthened the traceability of the analytical process and provided a documented basis for the internal review of the analysis.

The themes were constructed through the progressive grouping of codes that shared relevant conceptual relationships, empirical recurrences or interpretive tensions. At this stage, the team moved from descriptive codes to broader thematic patterns, integrating the semantic and latent dimensions of the participants’ discourse. Potential themes were reviewed in relation to the coded extracts and the complete dataset to ensure internal coherence, differentiation between themes, and relevance to the study objectives. Themes with conceptual overlaps were merged or redefined, and patterns with little empirical support were discarded.

Finally, the themes were defined and named by consensus of the research team members. This process considered three main criteria: the empirical density of each theme, its capacity to answer the research questions, and its interpretive contribution to the study’s sociocultural framework. The final version of the themes was not understood as the mechanical result of the frequency of codes but as an analytical and interpretive construction based on the data, discussed collaboratively and documented through memos.

3.4. Ethical Issues

The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles for research involving human subjects, ensuring respect, confidentiality, and voluntary participation. This study was carried out as part of the project: “University-level training in pedagogy and values at four universities of the Consortium for the Doctorate in Education.” Approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Catholic University of Maule (report no. UEC 111/2022). Institutional authorizations were requested from the participating universities through letters of collaboration signed by the directors of academic units. All participants were informed of the study’s objectives, the voluntary nature of their participation, and the exclusively academic use of the information provided. Subsequently, they signed an informed consent form prior to the interview. To safeguard confidentiality, participants were assigned codes, avoiding the use of proper names or other identifiable information. The data were securely stored and used solely for research purposes.

4. Results

The first four phases of reflective thematic analysis are justified by their articulated and progressive nature within the analytical process, as they constitute the core of the data interpretation(Table 2). Familiarization allows for deep immersion in the information corpus, a necessary condition for rigorous coding based on the methodological approach. The generation of initial codes enables the meaningful segmentation of information. The search for themes organizes these codes into patterns of meaning, and their review ensures internal consistency and interpretative validity in relation to the dataset. Together, these phases operate iteratively and reflectively, allowing a transition from a descriptive approach to robust thematic structuring, thus guaranteeing the credibility and coherence of the analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

Table 2. Summary of the first four phases of reflective thematic analysis.

Fase	Definition	Actions Developed in the Study
1. Familiarization with the data	Initial process of immersion in the corpus that allows you to know the content in depth and identify preliminary ideas.	Verbatim transcription Repeated reading Transcript Verification Preparation of analytical notes Team discussion.
2. Initial Code Generation	Systematic identification of relevant features by assigning codes to units of meaning.	Inductive Coding Identifying Units of Meaning Assigning Tags Code and memo review Collaborative work.
3. Topic Search	Organization of codes into broader patterns of meaning that shape potential themes.	Code grouping Pattern Identification Organization by topic Die construction Relationship with theoretical framework.
4. Theme Review	Evaluation and refinement of topics in relation to data and the total corpus as a whole.	Consistency Review Contrast with data Global Assessment Redefining or deleting topics Preparation of a thematic map.

Note: The process was iterative and reflective, involving constant movement between phases (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2014).

Regarding the naming of the topics, the findings and discussion of the study are organized into three main themes: the values that students possess in education degree programs, the meanings attributed to values by students in education programs, and the communication of values in education degree programs and universities.

4.1. The Values Possessed by Pedagogy Students in Regional Universities

The interview findings demonstrate that, in both Catholic and public universities, students’ value preferences are not formed in isolation but are directly linked to the teacher training process.

The authors found that professional practice is a critical component of teacher training, as it allows students to connect values with their teaching practice. This finding is significant because it highlights that classroom practice acts as a space for curricular realization of the axiological dimension. Values are addressed as deliberate objects of instruction. As student teachers assume an active teaching role and gain experience in teaching practicums, their understanding and internalization of values deepens. Thus, practical experience not only enhances knowledge of values but also fosters their integration as an inherent facet of teacher identity.

“Yes, I know them from a more pedagogical perspective, since, in this last year of my degree, while I am doing my teaching practicum, I also teach guidance classes, and I do it with seventh-grade students. There is a unit that has to be oriented regarding the values of the students”.

(Catholic University 3, Mathematics pedagogy)

Furthermore, the analysis highlights that values are not limited solely to the realm of direct interaction with students but are explicitly integrated into curriculum planning processes. This finding is significant, as it demonstrates that the values dimension is explicitly materialized in pedagogical planning processes, particularly from a multicultural perspective. Values are operationalized in concrete didactic decisions, such as the selection of content, methodological approaches, and assessment strategies, thus reinforcing their cross-cutting nature in professional practices.

“For example, through… when we do the planning, we have to do planning with a multicultural approach. There we take into consideration that we have to respect diversity and everything…”

(Public University, English pedagogy)

Taken together, the findings show that university-level teacher training articulates theory and practice around axiological dimensions. Professional practice allows for the concrete application of values in teaching situations, whereas curriculum planning ensures their structural incorporation into educational design. Thus, initial teacher training is a comprehensive process that not only develops technical and disciplinary competencies but also consolidates a professional identity based on ethical and value-based principles, which is fundamental for pedagogical practice in diverse and culturally heterogeneous school contexts.

The analysis of student responses reveals their most recurrent axiological preferences—respect, honesty, and empathy—derived from their pedagogical experiences, both in relation to the didactic aspects of their preparation for professional practice and the moral dimensions inherent in teacher training. Thus, their values are articulated according to the interests, reflections, and educational practices that constitute their training.

The analysis of the interviews revealed a clear convergence between institutions and degree programmes regarding the value of respect, which students considered a fundamental principle for life in society and for teaching practice. In both public and Catholic universities, respect was repeatedly mentioned as an indispensable condition for coexistence and pedagogical practice. This suggests the existence of a shared axiological core in initial teacher training associated with social coexistence, recognition of others, and responsible teaching practice.

In public universities, students link it to the need to recognize diversity and individual differences in the classroom. The variation between institutions is observed in the emphasis: while in public universities, respect is primarily associated with cultural and social diversity, in Catholic universities, its moral and universal character is emphasized.

“I think that, considering that we are all very different, we have to respect each person’s thoughts, their conscience, what they can and cannot do. We are a society that, I think, lacks this value and we should encourage it more”.

(Public University, English pedagogy)

In contrast, Catholic universities emphasize respect as a universal value and the basis of ethical training.

“The greatest value… I think the most important one is respect, because if you want to live in society or want to be respected, you have to respect first of all, so that would be the main thing for me, at least what I’ve been taught…”.

(Catholic University 1, Language pedagogy)

The analysis revealed a substantial convergence between Catholic and public universities regarding the value of honesty, which is considered essential in teacher training. The variation lies in the emphasis: in Catholic universities, honesty is linked to professional practice and ethical responsibility toward students and their families, while in public universities, it is highlighted as a personal and relational principle associated with truthfulness and trust in human interactions. In both institutional contexts, honesty is configured as a central ethical principle that guides the construction of professional identity and responsible teaching practice. However, depending on the type of institution, variations are observed in the emphasis associated with this value. In Catholic universities, honesty is linked to professional practice and teachers’ ethical responsibility toward students. In this sense, it is understood as a professional requirement tied to fair evaluation processes and responsible, pedagogical decision-making. In contrast, public universities recognize and emphasize honesty as a personal and relational principle. This approach emphasizes the interpersonal dimension of value, highlighting its relevance in building ethical and authentic bonds in the educational context.

“Well, the value that I consider most important is honesty, because as a teacher I often have to be honest with the children, I have to make an honest diagnosis of them”

(Catholic University 1, Elementary education with a specialization)

“I believe that honesty, to begin with, I don’t like to lie and I don’t like to be lied to, so something very important for me is to maintain the truthfulness of things in human relationships”

(Public University, Spanish pedagogy and communication)

The analysis revealed a significant convergence between Catholic and public universities regarding the value of empathy, which is considered essential for teacher training. In both institutional contexts, students emphasized the importance of the ability to adopt another’s perspective and recognize the emotional dimension of human beings as essential foundations of pedagogical practice. The variation lies in their emphasis. In Catholic universities, empathy is linked to the relevance of emotionality and humanization of educational relationships. In public universities, the relationship between empathy and tolerance is emphasized as a condition for effective teaching.

“…in my case, I feel it’s very important nowadays to put yourself in someone else’s shoes because society today seems to have lost sight of empathy, human emotion, and what it means to be human.”.

(Catholic University 1, Language and Communication pedagogy)

“If we aren’t tolerant, we’ll never be good teachers, because without empathy and tolerance, we’ll never be able to put ourselves in our students’ shoes.”.

(Public University, Mathematics pedagogy)

“Putting myself in their shoes; and the issue of tolerance, for us as pre-service teachers, is a value we must keep very much in mind.”.

(Public University, Mathematics pedagogy)

The observed variation is expressed in the humanizing emphasis present in Catholic universities and the practical and relational dimension highlighted in public universities. However, in both educational contexts, students recognized empathy as a core value in initial teacher training. This value is associated with both the humanizing dimension of educational relationships and the practical ability to recognize diversity and practice tolerance. Its critical integration into both educational approaches consolidates a shared axiological framework underpinning both the construction of professional identity and the practice of teaching.

4.2. Meanings Attributed to Values by Students in Undergraduate Programs in Pedagogy

Analysis of student interviews, conducted at both public and Catholic universities, reveals a cross-cutting convergence in the understanding of values as guiding principles for human action, impacting both personal life and professional teaching practices. There is significant agreement in recognizing them as ethical and practical guidelines that shape the teacher’s identity.

“From what I’ve read and from my own experience, values are principles that guide us in our lives, helping us to do things in any area, whether professional or personal.”.

(Public University, English pedagogy)

“Well, for me, I feel that values are like the elements that guide us and help us… and define how we behave.”.

(Catholic University 2, Elementary education)

This trend reinforces the notion of a shared understanding of values as normative references that guide behavior in specific situations and within the framework of social interactions. From a critical perspective, it can be argued that, faced with the dilemmas teachers encounter in complex school contexts, values operate as guiding criteria for the professional discernment process, facilitating ethically grounded pedagogical decision-making. In this sense, the axiological dimension establishes an interpretive framework from which teachers can legitimize their educational interventions.

However, variations in emphasis were identified according to the institutional context and degree program. In degree programs, values are associated with educational pathways, especially regarding the origin and appropriation of values. In public universities, students refer to values as habits acquired since childhood and as dispositions expressed in interpersonal relationships developed in spaces of social interaction mediated by educational experiences. This approach suggests a conceptualization of values as ethical dispositions that solidify over time into practical habits. In contrast, at Catholic universities, students emphasize values as universal and moral virtues transmitted through family and life experiences. The emphasis shifts depending on the field of study: values as universal virtues that guide life and as universal virtues.

“For me, the concept of value, in this case, encompasses all those habits instilled from a young age… from simple acts of coexistence to respect for others.”

(Public University, Mathematics pedagogy)

“For me, the concept of value evokes a guide for life… respect and honesty… I always follow what my parents have taught me.”

(Catholic university 3, Mathematics pedagogy)

“For me, the concept of value is like any virtue a person possesses. This can be highlighted in a positive way, obviously.”

(Public University, English pedagogy)

Taken together, the findings confirm that values are consolidated as cross-cutting elements of teacher training, linking technical skills to ethical principles. Furthermore, they are articulated differently depending on the degree program, but always converge on their centrality to teachers’ professional identity.

Complementarily, the analysis of the excerpts suggests a consistent tendency to link values with the construction of personal identity, understood as a constantly evolving social and cultural process, shaped through daily interactions and the interpretive processes that individuals develop about themselves and their contexts. The narratives offer a significant convergence in the understanding of values as constitutive of human beings rather than as elements external to their nature. Values allow one to transcend biological nature and become a subject who interacts with others morally. This can be corroborated by the following:

“What a value means is what defines the concept of the human being. The human being in itself is an animal, while values and reasoning make him different from the rest”

(Catholic University 1, Elementary education)

From this perspective, personal identity is configured as the result of a progressive process of appropriating and reinterpreting values within specific social and cultural frameworks as the individual develops consciousness and reasoning. In this sense, values function as interpretive frameworks that guide the subject’s self-understanding and their way of situating themselves in the world. Likewise, the narratives show that values are not limited to an internal dimension of identity but are configured and confirmed in everyday social experience. Specifically, values are expressed through behavior and relationships. This is how the narratives express this:

“They are accompanied by personal essence […] when I already have knowledge and reasoning as a person”.

(Public University, Mathematics pedagogy)

“Behaviors that reflect my way of thinking”.

(Catholic University 1, elementary education)

“It influences your personality and your identity as a person”.

(Catholic University 2, English pedagogy)

Taken together, the analyzed extracts suggest that values play a central role in the construction of identity as a social and cultural process, associated with situated ontological, interpretive, and relational dimensions of identity. Beyond being understood as isolated attributes, values are fundamental to the subjective configuration of personal identity, guiding behavior, and enabling meaningful integration into social life. This is especially relevant in the context of initial teacher training, which fosters ethical responsibility and commitment.

4.3. Communicating Values in Teacher Training Programs and Universities

The data show that, in both Catholic and public universities, teacher educators transmit values associated with the pedagogical role as a constitutive part of teacher training. These values influence students’ moral behavior and their internalization of their pedagogical role. In the context of Catholic universities, this practice aligns with a conception of the teacher as an ethical reference point and role model, where “being” precedes and conditions pedagogical “doing.” Emphasis is placed on the teacher as a role model for their students. In the public university setting, the transmission of values appears linked to professional practice, that is, to its nature as a requirement for exercising the teaching role. Unlike the identity affirmation observed in the excerpts from Catholic universities, here the values foster greater openness to the diversity of value approaches and to critical thinking, by not integrating values into a predefined moral identity.

“Yes, there are professors who directly tell us how we should behave in the classroom or how we should be as people”;

(Catholic University1, Language pedagogy)

“Because we are going to be teachers…we are going to be role models for many students”.

(Catholic University 3, English pedagogy)

“Yes, they teach us and communicate what values are and that they are necessary to fulfill the pedagogical role”.

(Public University, English pedagogy)

In turn, the students’ discourses demonstrate that the transmission of values by teacher educators is central to shaping teachers’ professional identity. Values are presented as guiding criteria for “being a teacher,” articulating institutional expectations, a sense of mission, and the social projection of the pedagogical role. Values are transmitted as part of a desired professional profile, revealing a close relationship between values education and teacher identity. Values are conceived as the foundation that gives meaning and legitimacy to the teaching profession, expressing a direct link between professional purpose, teacher identity, and ethics.

“They tell us what kind of profile we should have, what they expect us to develop, and that based on these values, we should be agents of change for the future”.

(Catholic University 3, Mathematics pedagogy)

“Without a good foundation of values, our work falls into an empty pit; they are just empty words”.

(Catholic University 3, English pedagogy)

Furthermore, the students’ accounts demonstrate that the transmission of values in initial teacher training is shaped by differentiated pedagogical strategies along a continuum. On the one hand, there is an explicit dimension, institutionalized in subjects and formally declared training frameworks, in which values are conceived as formal teaching content. The emphasis on “the expected profile” reveals a prescriptive logic, where value education can acquire a normative character, from an institutional perspective, relegating the critical and reflective construction of one’s own professional identity to a secondary role.

There is an implicit dimension that manifests in the pedagogical practices, discourses, and daily actions of educators. In this mode of transmission, ethical learning does not arise from formal content but from observing the professional actions of those being trained. From an analytical point of view, this form of communication is significant because values are learned not as theoretical principles but as dispositions that are incorporated into daily practice.

“For example, in professional ethics, we are taught and discussed a bit about the expected teaching profile… or, for example, in these courses on theological and philosophical foundations”.

(Catholic University 2, Language pedagogy)

“Of course, it’s not like they focus on teaching practical values, but they do teach them implicitly through their own actions”.

(Catholic University 1, Mathematics pedagogy)

It is important to highlight that the interview excerpts show that the communication of values by teacher educators also occurs in a way that can be defined as having “as situated intentionality”. This form of transmission is based on a recognizable pedagogical intention, although it is not completely explicit or systematized within the formal curriculum. Within this framework, values are communicated through their integration into subjects or through the daily development of curricular activities, emerging in a situated manner within pedagogical practice rather than as deliberately thematized content. This indicates a flexible pedagogical intentionality that does not necessarily respond to explicit curricular planning but rather to an understanding of the teacher’s role as a holistic educator. Furthermore, it takes place in specific circumstances, which demonstrates a communication of values with situated intentionality.

“Each professor tries to instill values in us within their subject, and sometimes there are professors who go a little beyond that to help us develop personal values, values of humanity”.

(Catholic University 3, Elementary education)

“It’s possible that during classes, topics related to values might be covered, especially in the field of pedagogy… it’s like, as you go through the subject, you start to understand the values”.

(Catholic University 2, Language and communication)

At the institutional level, the analysis of student extracts reveals convergences and divergences between Catholic and public universities, indicating that the communication of values in initial teacher training is articulated through both formal and informal institutional mechanisms and channels.

A clear convergence is observed in the explicit institutionalization of value education. In Catholic universities, subjects such as Christian ethics and introduction to the faith allow for a formal approach to value formation, aligned with the institutional identity. These subjects are articulated with the university’s educational project and the expected graduate profile. Similarly, in public universities, mandatory workshops, such as those on human rights and cultural activities, are identified as being aimed at fostering ethical and social awareness in all teacher-education programmes. As can be seen, in both contexts, the transmission of values is articulated through recognized mechanisms.

However, divergences emerge in the guiding institutional principles that govern this type of transmission. In Catholic universities, values are explicitly associated with faith and the institutional conceptual structure, reinforcing a normative approach based on formative identity. In contrast, public universities ground their values in secular and universal principles, specifically those related to citizenship and human rights. Finally, in both institutional contexts, an implicit mode of value transmission is identified, integrated into extracurricular activities and daily academic life, which complements formal curricular strategies.

“Yes, because we have courses that are separate from the degree program, such as Christian ethics and introduction to the faith. Plus, the university is Catholic, and I believe that values are also present within religion”.

(Catholic University 1, Elementary education with a specialization)

“There are many workshops that you take part in, for example, the human rights workshop, which we should have as a requirement in all degree programs, and also several cultural workshops where you learn about society”.

(Public University, Mathematics pedagogy)

5. Discussion

This study aimed to understand how pre-service teachers in south-central Chile orient themselves toward values, how they understand their meaning, and how these values are transmitted during their training. Three key findings stand out, which we discuss in dialogue with the existing literature. The findings show that students’ value preferences are linked to their pedagogical training, particularly to their experiences during student teaching and personal trajectories (Pantazidis, 2026). Value construction occurs not only in universities but also through social and personal experiences that shape teachers’ understanding of their teaching role. Kuusisto et al. (2025) reaffirmed that university students orient their values toward social contribution, commitment, and community responsibility, aligning with the ethical and relational dimensions of teacher training. Colby (2020) posits that higher education fosters social commitment objectives, which is consistent with the emerging themes in this study. Students chose respect, honesty, and empathy, values linked to individuality, freedom of choice, and interactions with others (Gervilla, 2010).

This aligns with Cívico-Ariza et al. (2020) and Sahin (2019), who consider these values essential in teacher training. Respect was the most important value for participants from Catholic and public universities, followed by honesty and compassion. Studies indicate that value preferences are constructed through dialogue between students and professors in diverse contexts, especially in professional practice (Purcell et al., 2024). Other studies have shown similar preferences, expressed in terms such as respect, honesty, tolerance, and commitment (Caballero & Forgas, 2024; de Moraes Abrahão et al., 2024).

These value preferences demonstrate that creating spaces for dialogue, understanding, and consensus based on sound arguments is crucial in the classroom (Habermas, 1995). The students’ viewpoints reflect elements of Habermas’s theory of communicative action (Habermas, 1995), particularly in teacher training contexts. The distinction between communicative action oriented toward understanding and strategic action focused on goals without consensus is key to interpreting these findings. The data reveal the value placed on the principles of communicative action, such as empathy, understanding, and tolerance, fostering relationships based on openness and reciprocity, which are essential for teacher training. This focus on communicative action and values raises the need to examine their translation into concrete pedagogical practices.

Students recognize values as foundations that guide behavior and relationships, organize human action, orient decisions, and establish criteria for relevance in diverse contexts. These findings align with Schwartz (2012) and Cívico-Ariza et al. (2021), who consider values as guides for behavior, and Tappan (2006), who understands them as references for evaluating actions and their ethical implications. Similarly, values can be understood as sociocultural constructs that influence conflict resolution and social participation, as proposed by Cole (1999), Bruner (2006), Säljö (2009), and Van Krieken Robson (2019).

The findings suggest that when internalized, values have a transformative potential in student behavior, an idea reaffirmed in the study by Kuusisto et al. (2025). Students’ narratives form a moral discourse (Bernstein, 2000), establishing criteria for character and social behavior (Lavender, 2026; Choudhary & Bakshi, 2025). This relates to the construction of identity through social interaction, which is then internalized, as Kahlke et al. (2019) pointed out.

Furthermore, it is important to highlight that values are stable guiding principles, which invites us to consider their dynamic nature, especially in complex educational environments where opposing values may arise.

According to Bruner (1996), the meaning students attribute to values arises from the human need to construct a coherent explanation of things and events, integrating their own experiences and those of others. Therefore, it is necessary to create spaces where students can discuss their understanding of values, since narratives contribute to understanding themselves and the world (Bruner, 2006). In this sense, students can become aware of the values they adopt in their personal and collective lives, as well as the moral aspects linked to pedagogy itself. Consequently, narratives not only express values but also reinterpret, negotiate, and give them new meaning based on formative experiences.

The results show that values in teacher-training programs are primarily communicated through narratives about professional roles and practices. In Catholic and public universities, students identified that values are transmitted through examples, discourse, and daily interactions, reinforcing the idea that teaching is imbued with values. These findings align with those of Cívico-Ariza et al. (2020), who asserted that teaching involves ethical and formative dimensions. Dasoo (2023) also emphasized the relationship between values and teaching quality, highlighting their coexistence in educational processes. The results support the idea that the transmission of values influences future professional practice, positioning the teacher as a role model, consistent with Göçen and Bulut’s (2024) findings. Therefore, teaching is a complex practice that integrates ethical, relational, and formative dimensions that affect students’ moral development, as noted by Kristjánsson (2024), Collantes et al. (2022), and Bruxelle and Hortolan (2009).

Students from Catholic and public universities stated that value education is primarily delivered in the classroom through teacher–student dialogue. From a Vygotskian perspective, the teacher’s mediation in learning is key to teaching values (Choudhary & Bakshi, 2025). Thus, quality dialogue fosters the appropriation and application of these values, impacting both collective and individual understanding (Lavender, 2026; Habermas, 1995). This process highlights the importance of internalizing values so that they guide moral discernment and action in the face of teaching challenges (Peterson & Arthur, 2020). In their professional practice, teachers face the question “What is appropriate in this circumstance?” (Tappan, 2006), underscoring that values, in their ethical dimension, are inherent in teaching practices.

In accordance with the above, the communication of values is not limited to explicit transmission but is shaped through practices, interactions, and action models that operate implicitly in the formative experience. The findings show that teacher educators transmit values linked to professional identity, as Opoku et al. (2024) point out, highlighting the relationship between support for teaching practices, personality factors, and teacher preparation, which are key elements for shaping this identity. In this sense, teacher training goes beyond the teaching of disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge, as it must promote the construction of pre-service teachers’ professional identity based on an axiological framework (Arellano Saavedra et al., 2026).

These findings transcend the traditional dichotomy, thus allowing us to recognize an intermediate modality in the transmission of values, characterized by a certain pedagogical intentionality, in which educators act consciously; that is, values are communicated through their integration into subjects or through the daily development of curricular activity, emerging in a situated manner within pedagogical practice but without systematic planning, between explicit and implicit boundaries.

In line with this perspective, from a sociocultural standpoint, pedagogical practices and dialogues with educators are mediating tools that foster understanding and assimilation of teacher identity. Along these lines, Lovat et al. (2011, p. 21) maintain that “values education is imparted more effectively in a high-quality teaching and learning environment characterized by a pedagogy of best practices.” Learning to teach is a continuous and dynamic process closely linked to cultural environments and underlying values (Dasoo & Henning, 2012; Flores, 2020). Therefore, the development of values education is tied to comprehensive initial teacher training based on a solid epistemological foundation and knowledge of strategies for teaching values.

6. Conclusions

This study provides substantial evidence on how student teachers in Chile conceptualize values education, distinguishing three dimensions: explicit, implicit, and an intermediate category defined “as situated intentionality”. This finding allows us to move beyond the traditional dichotomy between formal and hidden curriculum, showing that the transmission of values also occurs in a situated way within pedagogical practice, rather than as deliberately thematized content, thus giving pedagogy a flexible character. Furthermore, relevant institutional differences are observed: while Catholic universities emphasize theological and denominational training, public universities articulate values education through professional ethics courses and cultural activities. These results demonstrate that axiological formation depends as much on pedagogical practices as on the institutional framework of the educational process.

The identification of the category “as situated intentionality” constitutes a significant conceptual contribution, advancing the binary view proposed by Thornberg and Oguz (2013) to a tripartite typology view. It is proposed that value education develops along a continuum that combines planning and spontaneity, enriching the theoretical understanding of teacher identity construction and lending flexibility to teaching practice. In this sense, identity construction is not limited to the acquisition of technical knowledge but involves the internalization of an axiological structure that guides pedagogical practice and teachers’ ethical development.

The findings highlight the need to move toward more intentional and systematic initial teacher training in value education situated within educational contexts. In the Chilean case, this implies strengthening preparation in axiology and the didactics of values education to overcome the current fragmentation. Internationally, this study encourages a rethinking of teacher training as a process that explicitly integrates the axiological dimension into its curricula, recognizing that educational institutions are not neutral but actively participate in shaping civic and professional profiles. Thus, initial teacher training becomes a relevant space for value education in diverse social contexts within a globalized world.

It is important to develop longitudinal studies that follow graduates during their first years of teaching practice to observe how they apply value education in their professional work. Likewise, it is necessary to delve deeper into the training of teacher educators, analyzing how those who teach pre-service teachers in this axiological field are prepared for it. Comparing this with experiences in other Latin American countries would allow for the identification of transferable strategies and training models, broadening our understanding of the impact of institutional and cultural frameworks on the transmission of values. Taken together, these lines of research would contribute to consolidating initial teacher training that responds more effectively to the ethical and social challenges of contemporary education.

7. Limitations of the Research

This research is based on the participation of students from four teacher training programs at four selected universities in the south-central region of Chile to understand their preferences, the meaning they attribute to values, and their practices in communicating values. However, the absence of other teacher-training degree programs could affect the findings, limiting the depth of exploration of preferences, meanings attributed to values, and communication methods used by professors and institutions. Another limitation of the study is that the findings are derived exclusively from self-reported data obtained in interviews with students, thus reflecting student perceptions and not allowing for the establishment of conclusive institutional patterns of behavior. To formulate more robust claims, it is necessary to incorporate additional sources of evidence, such as curriculum documents, interviews with faculty, and observational data, which is proposed as a line of future research.

8. Implications

The researchers propose the following implications for future academic actions in value education in both Catholic and public universities. At a theoretical level, it is essential to delve deeper into the meanings attributed to values within the context of teacher training and practice. Students should be encouraged to narrate their understanding of values, as narration is a way for them to make sense of themselves and the world around them and construct their pedagogical identity. It is also crucial to foster the development of an axiological framework that guides them in the ongoing need for discernment and promotes appropriate moral conduct in the teaching context. At the level of teaching practice, teacher educators should move from implicit to explicit values education; therefore, training opportunities should be created to encourage concrete actions by teachers. At the policy level, it is important to guarantee mechanisms for transmitting values in university institutions, as stated in educational projects and aligned with postgraduate profiles. Future research could incorporate other levels of pedagogy to broaden the scope and depth of narratives.