Ecological Turn and Pathway Reshaping of Teacher Ethics and Professional Conduct Development under High-Quality Development of Basic Education

Under the call for high-quality development in basic education, the traditional singular and administrative model of teacher ethics construction can no longer adequately respond to the complex challenges within the educational ecosystem, necessitating an urgent shift toward a systematic and ecological approach. Based on Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of human development, this paper conceptualizes teacher ethics and professional conduct as a continuously evolving ecosystem rooted in the interactions among micro- (individual teachers), meso- (school institutions), and macro- (socio-cultural) systems. It emphasizes the importance of positive multi-level interactions to support the conscious development and professional practice of teachers as moral agents. This study identifies three major ecological challenges in current teacher ethics construction: at the micro level, due to unlimited responsibilities and lack of practical support, teachers are trapped in an alienating cycle of “passive compliance—moral coercion”; at the meso level, the instrumentalization of school management and the imbalance between “demands and rewards” in institutional design weaken the internal motivation for teacher ethics development; at the macro level, media trials compress the space for educational autonomy, sanctifying narratives reduce moral tolerance, and academic utilitarianism deconstructs the value and meaning of the teaching profession, all of which erode the cultural foundation of teacher ethics construction. To address these challenges, this paper proposes an ecological framework for reconstruction: at the micro level, promote a shift from “discipline” to “trust”, and rebuild teacher agency by fostering moral cognition, empowering professional development, and enhancing psychological resilience; at the meso level, construct a “developmental accountability” mechanism to form an institutional ecology characterized by a virtuous cycle of “demand—support—development”; at the macro level, implement cultural purification measures, including strengthening public opinion guidance on respecting teachers and valuing education, advancing rule-of-law-based governance of educational public opinion, and deepening the reform of academic evaluation to reduce utilitarianism, so as to reshape the socio-cultural environment conducive to the sustainable development of teacher ethics. Through multi-level, interactive, and supportive ecological restructuring, this framework provides value guidance and systematic support for fulfilling the fundamental mission of fostering virtue through education and promoting high-quality development in basic education.