Developing a descriptive framework is one step in the complex process of theory development in qualitative research. This complexity is especially evident when analysing data about how teachers interpret the inherent moral significance of their classroom interactions. A common way of gathering data is to follow an iterative process, in which both theoretical concepts and empirical data play an important part. Theoretical concepts to describe teachers' interpretations of the inherent moral significance of their classroom interactions could be offered by continental European "pedagogiek". However, because of difficulties connecting these "pedagogische" theories to empirical data directly, an intermediary operation was required. To meet this requirement the central "pedagogische" question: "Who should be taught what, how, when, and why?" was used as the starting point for the development of the framework. This article sets out in detail the process of getting from this question to a framework that is able to describe teachers' interpretations of the inherent moral significance of their classroom interactions. (Contains 1 figure, 12 tables and 3 notes.)