Children's Perspectives on Educational Care in Learning Environments

• In Event: 61.086 - Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: 61.086-7 - School Culture, Socialization, and Climate Influences on Learning Environments

Abstract

Educational philosophy is often sidelined in conversations of school improvement and best practices. Framed in Noddings’ (1984, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2006) work on ethical caring, this phenomenological study of the child voice as it pertains to caring school culture and climate clarifies and makes tangible the concept of “educational care”. Using Moustakas’ (1990, 1994) phenomenological approach, purposeful sampling, multiple modality data collection methods, and the van Kamm (1959, 1966) method of analysis the data coalesce to suggest a comprehensive, child-driven model of educational care. The study concludes that educational care can be seen a complex set of observable actions, behaviors, and conditions, operationalizing Noddings’ philosophy in ways useful to educational practitioners and researchers alike.

Author

• Maria K. McKenna, University of Notre Dame