Pre-Service Teachers’ Views on Values Education: A Qualitative Study in Four Universities in South-Central Chile

Values are cultural tools that pre-service teachers can use in situations that require discernment and integrity. Promoting an axiological framework in the training of future educators is an urgent necessity for coexistence in today’s world. This study aimed to understand the preferences and meanings that third-year students studying to become primary school teachers of mathematics, Spanish, and English as a foreign language attribute to values, as well as how values are transmitted in degree programs and at selected universities. An exploratory case study was used as the research design. Thirty-two students were selected using purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was reached. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the participants. Reflective thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed three themes: students’ value preferences are conditioned by their pedagogical training; values, as constructions of shared meaning, are conceived as normative guidelines that orient human action in all its dimensions; and teacher educators transmit values linked to the pedagogical role and teacher identity, while universities emphasize moral values oriented toward professional development, thus articulating two complementary levels of training. The study provides an empirical framework for moving from spontaneous value education to intentional communication, both in teacher training curricula and in the educational activities of each university.