Ethics, Caring, and Power: Grounding Our Work in Theory and Practice

• In Event: “To Know Is Not Enough”: Action Research as the Core of Educational Research

Abstract

This paper explores dimensions of ethics in action research by highlight its use by teachers, who work in a context of caring, but also one of power. Understanding the particular ways in which ethical issues have been advanced by several key works. Zeni (2001) did some early work in the area, addressing topics of ownership, relationships, and issues particular to teachers in working with their students within a research framework. Campbell and Groundwater-Smith (2007) expanded the area, drawing together a broad range of scholar-practitioners to address university culture, the role of values, and the nature of narrative in research. In both of these works, the special relationship of caring within action research settings plays a major, albeit underexamined role. In this paper I hope to engage session participants in the dimensions of power that are embedded within notions of caring and ethics that teacher-researchers encounter, especially when they are working toward social justice-oriented practice.

Teacher-researchers work in contexts of caring relationships with their students. In addition, many action researchers invoke a notion of social justice in relation to this work. Yet there is little work that explores the body of research around notions of caring in conjunction with notions of justice, especially in a way that is grounded both in conceptual research and in long term work with teachers and schools. This paper draws on scholarship that seeks to examine power and politics in relation to ethics, with a particular focus on the nature of care (Held, 2006; Tronto, 1993).

The methodology juxtaposes data analyzed from field notes, journals, observations and interviews from action research work which generated theories about ethics and caring, against the theories of caring and justice derived from university-based scholars. Narrative from the field work is used to examine the academic scholarship; the academic work is use to explore the field projects.

Discussion of ethics in general, and caring in particular are often imbued with cultural categories and tacit assumptions. In many cases, the significance of this may be lost due to an inability to intertwine discussions of “how should we ‘be’ with each other” with examinations of power and structures of inequality. In conclusion, I argue that without this connection, we cannot generate knowledge that is strong enough to address issues of social justice through action research. My findings are grounded in how participants in the action research process use theories of ethics and caring. But they also highlight how the inter-connections between social theory and field work impact the broader goal of creating closer connections that will enable educational researchers “to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good.”

Campbell, A. & Groundwater-Smith, S. (Eds.) (2007). An ethical approach to practitioner research. London: Routledge.
Held, V. (2006). The ethics of care. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tronto, J. (1993). Moral boundaries. New York: Routledge
Zeni, J. (Ed.) (2001). Ethical issues in practitioner research. New York: Teachers College

Author

• Susan E. Noffke, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign