Journal for Christian reflections in the context of social sciences and humanities

Caritas et veritas 2025, 15(2):55-71

Ethical Values of Education in Wartime: the Ukrainian Context

Lyudmyla Ivanyuk
Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, Faculty of Foreign Philology, Department of German Philology, Volia Av. 13, 43025 Lutsk, Ukraine

During wartime, education is confronted with both institutional disruptions and deep ethical dilemmas, as it seeks to uphold and transmit moral values in the midst of instability, trauma, and social disintegration. This study explores the ethical values of education during the war in Ukraine, aiming to understand how educational spaces can foster dignity, responsibility, and solidarity under crisis conditions. Using a three-stage hermeneutical approach – normative theorisation, qualitative analysis through student questionnaires, and critical reflection – the study examines both the ideals and lived realities of ethical education in wartime. The findings highlight a deepened ethical consciousness among students, with values such as empathy, justice, and civic responsibility becoming central to their educational experience; however, structural and psychological barriers often impede ethical integration. The results suggest that education in wartime transforms into a moral practice of resistance and recovery, offering not only stability and social cohesion, but also laying a foundation for post-crisis democratic renewal.

Keywords: ethical values, wartime education, moral resilience, civic responsibility, solidarity, empathy, human dignity, critical pedagogy

Received: June 30, 2025; Revised: August 23, 2025; Accepted: September 26, 2025; Published: January 20, 2026  Show citation

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Ivanyuk, L. (2025). Ethical Values of Education in Wartime: the Ukrainian Context. Caritas et veritas, 15(2), 55-71
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