{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T15:28:58Z","timestamp":1789140538071,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786406400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Clarifying the conceptual boundaries and assessment dimensions of university teachers\u2019 professional ethics is a prerequisite for strengthening ethical standards in higher education. This study aimed to examine the connotation and constituent elements of university teachers\u2019 professional ethics, develop a systematic assessment framework, and preliminarily evaluate its applicability.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>An integrated qualitative and quantitative research design was employed. On the basis of theoretical analysis and empirical investigation, a two-dimensional assessment framework was developed by combining psychological components with relational domains. The resulting framework was subsequently applied in a survey of 1,230 university teachers, and teacher self-evaluations were compared with student evaluations. Differences in professional ethics across teacher groups were also examined.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The assessment framework comprised four psychological components\u2014moral cognition, moral emotion, moral volition, and moral behavior\u2014and four relational domains: teacher\u2013student relations, teacher\u2013institutional collective relations, teacher\u2013teaching relations, and teacher\u2013academic research relations. These dimensions generated a total of 50 specific assessment items. The survey results indicated that the participating university teachers generally reported relatively high levels of professional ethics. Nevertheless, discrepancies emerged between teacher self-evaluations and student evaluations, and significant variation was observed across different teacher groups.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The proposed framework provides a multidimensional approach to conceptualizing and assessing the professional ethics of university teachers by integrating psychological processes with major professional relationships. The preliminary findings also highlight the importance of incorporating multiple evaluative perspectives and attending to group differences. Based on the framework development process and the assessment results, corresponding strategies are proposed to promote the professional ethics of university teachers.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1811590","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T05:35:15Z","timestamp":1786426515000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Construction and application of a professional ethics assessment framework for university teachers in China"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Fei","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Nantong University","place":["Nantong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shuiping","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nantong University","place":["Nantong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"Statement on Professional Ethics","year":"2009"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"890","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tate.2012.04.003","article-title":"How do teachers make judgments about ethical and unethical behaviors? Toward the development of a code of conduct for teachers","volume":"28","author":"Barrett","year":"2012","journal-title":"Teach. Teach. Educ."},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2018.00149","article-title":"Best practices for developing and validating scales for health, social, and behavioral research: a primer","volume":"6","author":"Boateng","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front. Public Health"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"203","DOI":"10.1080\/03057640050075198","article-title":"Professional ethics in teaching: towards the development of a code of practice","volume":"30","author":"Campbell","year":"2000","journal-title":"Camb. J. Educ."},{"key":"ref9002","volume-title":"The ethical teacher","author":"Campbell","year":"2003"},{"key":"ref5","volume-title":"Scale Development: Theory and Applications","author":"DeVellis","year":"2021"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"133","DOI":"10.1007\/s11516-007-0010-2","article-title":"A research on the professional moral conducts of teachers in China","volume":"2","author":"Feng","year":"2007","journal-title":"Front. Educ. China"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"11905","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph191911905","article-title":"Development of an assessment of ethics for Chinese physical education teachers: a study using the Delphi and expert ranking methods","volume":"19","author":"Liu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health"},{"key":"ref9001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.4324\/9780203416501","volume-title":"Teaching with integrity: The ethics of higher education practice","author":"Macfarlane","year":"2004"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"397","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.psych.52.1.397","article-title":"Job burnout","volume":"52","author":"Maslach","year":"2001","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Psychol."},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"354","DOI":"10.1080\/03057240.2016.1204271","article-title":"Professional ethics education for future teachers: a narrative review of the scholarly writings","volume":"45","author":"Maxwell","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Moral Educ."},{"key":"ref9003","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1016\/S0079-7421(08)00408-8","article-title":"Moral identity, moral functioning, and the development of moral character","volume":"50","author":"Narvaez","year":"2009","journal-title":"Psychol. Learn. Motiv."},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.29252\/johepal.1.1.25","article-title":"Academic misconduct in higher education: a comprehensive review","volume":"1","author":"Parnther","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. High. Educ. Policy Leadersh. Stud."},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1016\/j.dr.2016.06.004","article-title":"Measurement invariance conventions and reporting: the state of the art and future directions for psychological research","volume":"41","author":"Putnick","year":"2016","journal-title":"Dev. Rev."},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.4324\/9781351173803","volume-title":"Higher Education and Professional Ethics: Roles and Responsibilities of Teachers","author":"Sethy","year":"2018"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"648","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tate.2010.11.003","article-title":"Teachers\u2019 critical incidents: ethical dilemmas in teaching practice","volume":"27","author":"Shapira-Lishchinsky","year":"2011","journal-title":"Teach. Teach. Educ."},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1059","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tate.2009.11.001","article-title":"Teacher self-efficacy and teacher burnout: a study of relations","volume":"26","author":"Skaalvik","year":"2010","journal-title":"Teach. Teach. Educ."},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"806","DOI":"10.1177\/0011000006288","article-title":"Scale development research: a content analysis and recommendations for best practices","volume":"34","author":"Worthington","year":"2006","journal-title":"Counsel. Psychol."},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"102876","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tate.2019.102876","article-title":"Pre-service teachers\u2019 perceptions of teacher morality in China","volume":"86","author":"Ye","year":"2019","journal-title":"Teach. Teach. Educ."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1811590\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T05:35:17Z","timestamp":1786426517000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1811590\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]]},"references-count":19,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1811590"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1811590","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]]},"article-number":"1811590"}}