The effects of teachers’ normative values and emotive reactions on teaching in higher education have received relatively little research attention. The focus is often on descriptive beliefs such as conceptions of teaching and their inter‐relations with practice. In this study, which is illustrated by a heuristic model, a belief system approach is used in which normative values and emotions are also taken into account. Through a series of naturalistic interviews focusing on normative values, a dichotomy of normative perspectives is proposed: moralistic versus non‐moralistic views on teaching. Suggestions for future research and a discussion of possible implications for academic development are also presented.