Learning From Teaching Care Ethics in Elementary School

• In Event: Enacting Professional Learning Alongside Practicing Teachers

Abstract

This yearlong self-study investigated my efforts to create caring community in fourth-grade. My students’ stories revealed their uncaring experiences as taken-for-granted. Caring for each other mattered to them and with open-ended experiences of dialogue over intention-setting, they took initiative to create avenues to care. In a context of collective commitment to caring, students could conceive of their own justifications and methods for caring for each other across differences such as ability, culture, language, and race. This study shows the possibilities and the need to address caring in early education.

Author

• Colette Rabin, San José State University