Discussions of ethical dilemmas
Developing ethical competence and life skills in upper secondary religious education in Norway
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21445084 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kirsten Marie Hartvigsen (0009-0000-6835-0523, University of Oslo, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 232-247 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | British Journal of Religious Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0141-6200 • E-ISSN: 1740-7931 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01416200.2025.2591299 |
| OpenAlex | W4417007341 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 20 |
In 2020 and 2022, Norway introduced national curricula for secondary religious education (RE) that incorporated the interdisciplinary topic of ‘health and life skills’, encompassing ethical dilemmas. This empirical study examined how discussions of real-life ethical dilemmas facilitated the teaching and learning of ethical competence and life skills in RE. In 2021–2024, 132 teacher logs and 77 video-recorded lessons were collected in 22 classrooms at 6 schools, involving 14 RE teachers. The teacher logs were used to detect lessons focusing on both ethics and life skills. One upper secondary lesson was identified and analysed quantitatively using an observation protocol on life skills and qualitatively through deductive codes and hermeneutical interpretation. The teacher fostered the development of ethical competence and life skills by facilitating group discussions about dilemmas that students may face in their current or future lives. The discussions revealed how the students developed ethical competence and life skills in their zones of proximal development. The teacher scaffolded the discussions by instructing the students to use a framework of questions on ethical dilemmas. While interacting with the groups, she evoked a linguistic repertoire, posed relevant questions, and introduced related ethical dilemmas. The students used this scaffolding to varying degrees
Competence (human resources) · Ethical issues · Ethical values · Life skills · Religious education · Religious life · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Religious Education and Schools · Social Science and Policy Research
Qualitative Text Analysis
Defining Life Skills in health promotion at school
Life Skills in Compulsory Education
Livsmestring og selvutvikling i KRLE
“Life Skills Are Everything”
Om danning og livsmeistring
Life skills education in secondary language classrooms
Possible competences to be aimed at in ethics education – Ethical competences highlighted in educational research journals
A narrative systematic review of life skills education
Missed opportunities of text-based instruction
Deep Learning' in Studies of Religion and Worldviews in Norwegian Schools? The Implications of the National Curriculum Renewal in 2020
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |