Health and social care educators’ ethical competence

Background and purpose: Educators’ ethical competence is of crucial importance for developing students’ ethical thinking. Previous studies describe educators’ ethical codes and principles. This article aimstowidentheunderstandingofhealth-andsocialcareeducators’ethicalcompetenceinrelationtocore values and ethos. Theoretical background and key concepts: The study is based on the didactics of caring science and theoretically links the concepts ethos and competence. Methods: Data material was collected from nine educational units for healthcare and social service in Finland. In total 16 semi-structured focus group interviews with 48 participants were conducted. The interviews were analysed with a thematic analysis according to Braun and Clarke. Ethical considerations: The study is approved by the Declaration of Helsinki, the legislation regarding personal data and the General Data Protection Regulation. The study received ethical permission from the University of Jyväskyä. Informed consent was obtained from all the educational units and participants in the study.