“She Doesn’t Care About Us!” Varying Perceptions of Care

• In Event: Roundtable Session 26
  In Roundtable Session: Self-Study in the Process of Creating Prospective Teachers

Abstract

The ethic of care is generally accepted as good and reasonable practice in elementary classrooms. It is also seen as an important factor in college classrooms but has been predominantly studied through surveys of students about professors’ behaviors (Nicol, Novakowski, Ghaleb, & Beairsto, 2008, Sumsion, 2000). Using Noddings’ ethic of care (1984, 2010, 2012) as a framework, the author employed self-study of teacher education practice and Mishler’s (1990) use of exemplar to highlight how she did or did not demonstrate caring in her practice. Findings discuss pedagogy as an expression of caring, barriers to caring, and how institutional structures can influence an educator’s ability to care.

Author

• Jodi Meyer-Mork, Luther College