Purpose: The aim of this study is to present an approach for creating an educational process that can affect teacher trainees' moral resilience, while investigating the manner in which they -- as teachers -- perceive the concept of moral resilience. Design/methodology/approach: A study questionnaire, designed especially for the current study, was distributed online among trainees in a teacher-training college in Israel and was completed by 123 participants. Findings: Two major themes emerged in trainees' conceptualizations of the notion of moral resilience: the role of the organisation in which the teaching takes place, and mechanisms that contribute to the development of moral fibre, which creates resilience. Research limitations/implications: The following points should be addressed early on in the teacher-training process: The teaching and acquisition of tools that are fundamental to the development of moral resilience, through cognitive and experiential processes, not only through theoretical study. The construction of a supportive environment will enable students to use their internal resources for coping with events that require mental resilience and which thus serve to develop moral resilience. Originality/value: This paper helps to establish a discourse and develop terminology to implement this subject.