Caring Under Constraint: Guidance for School Leaders on School Structures and Ethical Practice

• In Event: Caring Leadership Amidst the Chaos: Elevating Care as Resistance, Intervention, and Imperative

Abstract

Nearly four decades ago, Noddings (1988) introduced care ethics into educational discourse. Since then, scholars and school leaders have increasingly recognized the importance of cultivating a culture of care within schools and educational systems (Author, 2025; Love, 2019; Ownes & Ennis, 2005; Rogers & Webb, 1991). Despite its theoretical prominence, a persistent crisis of care continues to affect many schools. One contributing factor is the rigidity of school systems, which often fail to support the care needs of both students and teachers (Smylie et al., 2020). Structural constraints—such as busing schedules, staffing shortages, and budget limitations—frequently leave school leaders navigating a tension between care-centered reform efforts and the entrenched practices and values that shape modern schooling (Authors, 2022).

This paper employs Argyris and Schön’s (1978) Theory of Action to examine the disjunction between educators’ ethical commitment to care and the practical challenges of enacting sustainable, care-focused reforms. Specifically, it explores the question: What structural supports and barriers do teachers face when attempting to care for students? Drawing on the experiences of secondary teachers, this study offers school leaders practical insight into the organizational changes teachers identify as essential for fostering caring school environments.

The findings are grounded in the qualitative strand of a mixed-methods study (Clark & Ivankova, 2016) involving 295 full-time secondary teachers (grades 6–12) from public school districts in a Midwestern U.S. state. Eight participants were selected for follow-up interviews, each lasting 60 to 90 minutes, to explore in greater depth their experiences and challenges in performing care work. Participants were asked to describe their daily responsibilities and reflect on how care labor functions within their professional roles.

Supported by the work of Saldaña’s (2021) coding and thematic analysis methods, four primary themes emerged: teacher time, teacher load, teacher space, and school policies. Within each, participants highlighted how school structures can inhibit their ability to provide meaningful care to students. These findings point to several persistent challenges—including large class sizes, administrative demands, and limited preparation time—that complicate teachers’ efforts to fulfill their ethical obligations.

While many of these issues are familiar within broader educational reform discourse, participants overwhelmingly emphasized teacher workload as the most significant barrier to care. The accumulation of non-instructional duties and the erosion of dedicated time for planning and reflection compound these pressures.
This paper centers teachers’ lived experiences to expose the organizational assumptions and rigid systems that undermine care in schools. It argues that without meaningful structural adjustments, the goal of creating caring school environments will remain elusive. However, by listening to teachers and designing reforms responsive to their care-related needs, school leaders can move toward more ethical, sustainable, and student-centered practices.

Author

• Janel Anderson, Gonzaga University