Worse Than Burnout: Moral Injury is Hurting Teachers

From Moral Distress to Moral Injury:

The Ethical Evolution of Teacher Burnout.

How moral conflicts escalate from daily stress to lasting trauma AND what you can do about it.

In my last post, I introduced you to the concept of moral distress and the pervasive "ideal worker" myth that plagues teachers and educators. Many of you reached out, sharing how the post resonated with your experiences and sparked important conversations in your schools.

Your responses underscore the critical nature of these issues and the need for continued dialogue.

Today, we will dive a little deeper. We will explore how prolonged moral distress can potentially evolve into something even more profound: moral injury. This concept, while relatively new in educational contexts, offers a powerful lens through which we can understand the deeper, long-lasting impacts of the ethical challenges we face in our classrooms and schools.

As we embark on this journey together, I want you to know that this isn't just about identifying problems. It's about empowerment. By understanding moral injury, you can better equip yourself to recognize its signs, mitigate its effects, and even prevent it from taking root in the first place.

In this post, we'll explore:

 1. What exactly is moral injury, and how does it differ from moral distress?

2. Real-life examples of moral injury in educational settings

3. The TEMT framework for identifying instances of moral injury  (Arquette et al., 2023)

4. Strategies for combating moral injury on both personal and systemic levels

5. Ways to build resilience against moral injury in our professional lives

Remember, knowledge is power. By shining a light on these issues, you're taking the first crucial steps towards creating a more ethically aligned and supportive educational environment for all.

Let's get started -

What is Moral Injury?

Moral injury occurs when an individual experiences a profound violation of their moral beliefs or values.

If you work in education, this can happen if you are compelled to act in ways that contradict your ethical standards or witness situations that challenge your core values.

Think of it this way - Moral injury for teachers is like a deep crack in a foundation:

Just as a building's foundation provides structural integrity and support, your moral and ethical principles as a teacher form the basis of your professional identity and practice. If you are compelled to act against these principles or witness situations that violate your core values, it's like a crack forming in that foundation.

• Small cracks (moral distress) might appear due to isolated incidents or temporary pressures, and can often be repaired with proper care and attention.

• However, if these cracks are ignored or if the pressure continues, they can deepen and widen over time, potentially compromising the entire structure (moral injury).

• Just as a cracked foundation can lead to instability throughout a building, moral injury can affect a teacher's entire professional and personal life, causing doubt, guilt, and a loss of purpose.

• Addressing moral injury, like repairing a foundation, requires thorough assessment, targeted interventions, and often support from others to restore stability and strength.

If you've experienced moral injury, it is important to recognize that its impact ripples far beyond temporary stress or conflict. It can potentially cause long-lasting damage to your sense of self and professional integrity if not properly addressed and cared for.

To better understand the building blocks of moral injury we can use the TEMT framework  (Arquette et al., 2023):

1. Troubling Event (TE)

2. Moral Trespass (MT)

Moral injury requires both elements: a distressing incident AND a violation of one's moral compass. It's important to note that experiencing a difficult situation alone doesn't necessarily lead to moral injury; moral transgression is a crucial component.

Identifying Moral Injury in Education

These scenarios illustrate various situations where you might experience moral injury, that is where you feel compelled to act against your values or you witness situations that violate your ethical standards.

1. Forced grading curve

• Policies force you to fail a hardworking student due to a mandatory grading curve, despite the student's improvement and effort and your efforts to make an exception for this student.

2. Budget cuts impact

• Despite your advocacy, you watch special needs programs get cut due to budget constraints, knowing it will harm vulnerable students. ,

3. Bullying inaction

• You witness ongoing bullying but you feel powerless to intervene due to ineffective school policies. Students are harmed as a result and you feel responsible.

4. Test pressure

• You feel compelled to "teach to the test" rather than providing a well-rounded education due to standardized testing pressures. You are left questioning your purpose as an educator.

5. Unsafe conditions

• As a school leader, you must keep the school open during a pandemic or natural disaster, potentially risking student and staff health.

6. Equity issues

• You observe clear racial or socioeconomic disparities in disciplinary actions or academic opportunities but you lack the authority to address them. This leaves you feeling angry, disillusioned, and feeling guilty for being a part of this system.

7. Curriculum conflicts

• You must teach content that you believe is biased, outdated, or harmful due to strict curriculum mandates. This creates a significant conflict between your professional obligations and your personal ethics.

8. Resource inequality

• You work in an underfunded school and you watch students struggle without basic supplies or technology. You feel inadequate as you are unable to provide what they need.

9. Overworked colleagues

• You see coworkers burning out from excessive workloads but you can't lighten their burden due to staffing shortages. You feel a sense of helplessness as you witness this injustice but can't take action.

10. Parent pressure

• You face intense pressure from influential parents to change grades or bend rules, compromising your professional integrity.

11. Student secrets

• You learn of a student's personal struggle but you are bound by confidentiality rules that prevent you from helping fully. You are left feeling like you are unable to protect this vulnerable student.

12. Inclusion challenges

• You lack proper support to effectively include students with severe behavioural issues, impacting the entire class's learning. You feel frustrated by the fact that you cannot give your other students the attention and learning experience that they deserve.

13. Administrative cover-ups

• As a teacher, you witness school leadership hiding or downplaying serious issues to protect the school's reputation. You are forced to stay silent for fear of retaliation.

14. Ethical dilemmas

• You are left to choose between following school policies or the advice of your principal and doing what you believe is best for a student in a unique situation.

15. Cultural insensitivity

• You observes culturally insensitive practices or materials being used but you lack the authority to make changes.

16. Student Mental Health

• You are confronted with a student's mental health crisis and the necessary support is not available, leading you to feel powerless to protect your student.

The Impact of Moral Injury on Educators

If you've experienced moral injury you may be profoundly impacted. Each person is impacted in various ways, and this can include your psychological, emotional, social, and professional well-being.

1. Psychological Impacts:

Depression: Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness can lead to clinical depression.

Anxiety: Constant worry about ethical dilemmas and their consequences can result in anxiety disorders.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)-like symptoms: While distinct from PTSD, moral injury can manifest similar symptoms such as intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and hypervigilance.

Decreased self-esteem: Doubting one's moral compass can lead to a diminished sense of self-worth.

Cognitive dissonance: The conflict between one's actions and beliefs can cause significant psychological distress.

2. Emotional Impacts:

Guilt and shame: Persistent feelings of having done something wrong or failed to prevent harm.

Anger and resentment: Towards oneself, the system, or others involved in the morally injurious event.

Emotional numbing: A protective mechanism to avoid confronting painful emotions.

Loss of trust: In oneself, others, or institutions.

Grief: Mourning the loss of innocence or previously held beliefs about the world.

3. Social Impacts: 

Isolation: Withdrawing from social interactions due to feelings of shame or inability to relate to others.

Relationship difficulties: Strained personal and professional relationships due to changed behaviour or outlook.

Loss of social support: Difficulty in seeking or accepting help from others.

Decreased empathy: Emotional exhaustion can lead to a reduced capacity for empathy in personal and professional contexts.

4. Professional Impacts:

 Decreased job satisfaction: Loss of meaning or purpose in one's work.

Reduced productivity: Difficulty concentrating or engaging fully in work tasks.

Burnout: Emotional exhaustion leading to decreased effectiveness and detachment from work.

Career questioning: Doubting career choices or considering leaving the profession altogether.

Ethical paralysis: Difficulty making decisions in ethically challenging situations due to fear of further moral injury.

5. Physical Impacts:

Psychosomatic symptoms: Headaches, gastrointestinal issues, or other physical manifestations of psychological distress.

Sleep disturbances: Insomnia or nightmares related to the morally injurious event.

Fatigue: Constant emotional and mental strain can lead to physical exhaustion.

Increased susceptibility to illness: Chronic stress can weaken the immune system.

6. Spiritual/Existential Impacts:

Loss of faith: In higher powers, humanity, or previously held belief systems.

Existential crisis: Questioning the meaning of life, one's purpose, or the nature of good and evil.

Moral disorientation: Difficulty discerning right from wrong in future situations.

Loss of worldview: Shattering of fundamental assumptions about how the world works.

 7. Behavioural Impacts:

Self-destructive behaviours: Increased risk of substance abuse or other harmful coping mechanisms such as eating disorders.

Avoidance behaviours: Steering clear of situations or responsibilities that might trigger moral distress.

Overcompensation: Becoming overly rigid in ethical matters or taking on excessive responsibility to atone for perceived past failures.

Risk aversion: Becoming overly cautious in decision-making to avoid potential moral dilemmas.

It's important to note that these effects can vary in intensity and duration from person to person.

Recognizing these impacts is crucial for developing effective interventions and support systems to help you cope with and recover from moral injury.

Strategies to Combat Moral Injury (Arquette et al., 2023)

 I would highly recommended reviewing the article and associated resources in the Appendices from the Open Access Article: Moral Injury: How It Affects Us and Tools to Combat It

Here is an overview of the strategies that they recommend to combat it:

Personal Strategies: (Arquette et al., 2023)

1. Identify and clarify your personal values

2. Recognize instances of moral injury by understanding your core beliefs

3. Seek out peers and leaders who share similar values

4. Look for opportunities to initiate change within your organization

5. Advocate for a "seat at the table" in discussions about organizational change

System-wide Strategies: (Arquette et al., 2023)

1. Identify and articulate organizational values

2. Promote transparency to hold the system accountable to these values

3. Create safe spaces for educators to discuss ethical dilemmas

4. Implement regular debriefing sessions to address moral conflicts

Building Resilience Against Moral Injury (Arquette et al., 2023)

1. Engage in self-reflection and journaling to articulate your experiences and become aware of your internal dialogue

2. Practice mindfulness and stress-reduction techniques

3. Seek professional development opportunities focused on ethical decision-making

4. Build a strong support network with colleagues and mentors

5. Advocate for policies and practices that align with your values

Final Thoughts:

Although this topic could expand far beyond the scope of this blog post, my hope is that this introduction to the concept of moral injury within the context of education offers a powerful framework for naming and understanding the deep, lasting impacts of the ethical challenges you face daily in your classrooms and schools.

This journey doesn't end here. Your awareness is just the beginning. As you prepare for the upcoming school year, I encourage you to carry these insights with you. Recognize the potential for moral injury in your work, but also remember that you're now better equipped to address it.

I invite you to continue this dialogue in your schools and communities. Share your experiences, support one another, and work together to implement positive changes.

By doing so, you can not only mitigate the effects of moral injury but also gradually reinvigorate your passion for teaching and your commitment to our students' success.

This is a fine balance and quite the learning curve. If you are struggling with moral injury, you deserve support. Therapy can be a great place to start.

If you are looking for a Virtual Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario, please check out my services and reach out if you would like to explore this further via a free 15 minute discovery call.

Recommended Resources:

Self-compassion For Educators: Mindful Practices To Awaken Your Well-being And Grow Resilience - By Lisa Baylis

References:

Arquette, C., Peicher, V., Ajayi, A., Alvarez, D., Mao, A., Nguyen, T., Sawyer, A., Sears, C. M., Carragee, E. J., Floyd, B., Mahanay, B., & Blankenburg, R. (2023). Moral injury: how it affects us and tools to combat it. MedEdPORTAL. https://doi.org/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11357