BY: AVRIL M. EL-AMIN

MARCH 24, 2015

DR. KRISTINE QUADE, CHAIRDR. DONNA GRAHAM, CONTENT

DR. TERRY HALFHILL, METHODS

GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY

A Descriptive Case Study: How Teachers Understand and Demonstrate Caring

Introduction

Education leaders are constantly

looking for ways to improve school

organizations and student academic

achievement.

Research explains that teacher

effectiveness is critical to improving student

academic achievement (Looney, 2011).

Purpose

One of the qualities of an effective

teacher is the ability to develop caring

teacher-student relationships that support

successful student learning (Gehlbach,

Brinkworth, & Harris, 2012).

One way teachers create caring,

supportive relationships with students is by

demonstrating caring for students (Gehlbach,

Brinkworth, & Harris, 2012; Jennings &

Greenberg, 2009; Woods, 2006).

Purpose

The purpose of the current research is to

add a comprehensive description of teacher

caring behaviors by describing how teachers

at one school understand and demonstrate

caring in their classrooms with their students.

Conceptual Framework

Conceptual Framework 1

Noddings Components (modeling, dialogue, practice, confirmation) of Caring Classrooms

(1984, 2002, 2005)

Conceptual Framework 2

Three Categories of Pedagogical Caring

(Tosolt, 2009)

Interpersonal caring, academic caring, fairness/equity

Conceptual Framework 3

Seven Examples of Pedagogical Caring (Bongo 2011)

communication/connectedness, respect, compassion, competence, instructional

practices, high expectations, fairness/equity

This study:

How teachers understand and demonstrate pedagogical caring and how those demonstrations

align with Noddings' components of caring

Conceptual Framework

Research Question #1

What characteristics of pedagogical caring

(interpersonal: communication/connectedness,

compassion, respect; academic: competence,

instructional practices, high expectations; and

fairness/equity) emerged as the most practiced

among 10 sixth through ninth grade teachers in a

charter school in North Texas?

Research Question #2

How do the caring characteristics of 10 sixth

through ninth grade teachers in a charter school in North

Texas align with Noddings’ (1984, 2002, 2005) four

components (modeling, dialogue, practice, and

confirmation) of caring classrooms?

Findings for RQ 1

Academic caring-competence

Teachers demonstrated competence by being

knowledgeable of their content and possessing

effective classroom management skills.

This affirmed Williams, Sullivan, and Kohn’s

(2012) qualitative research with middle and high

school students.

Academic caring-instructional practices

Teachers demonstrated this characteristic of

pedagogical caring by providing support for their

students in these ways:

Differentiating instruction (Murray, 2011)

Giving students choices of assignments (Li,

Rukavina, & Foster, 2013)

Making academic accommodations for students

(Jansen & Bartell, 2013).

Academic caring-high expectations

Teachers demonstrated having high expectations

by holding positive beliefs about students, helping

them set goals, empowering students to make

decisions, and by providing students with one-on-one

time to help them be successful learners.

This practice affirmed Jansen and Bartell’s (2013)

finding that teachers demonstrate high expectations

by holding all students accountable for their work.

Interpersonal caring-communication/connectedness

Teachers created a sense of belonging for their students

by:

creating a comfortable environment conducive to

learning (Li, Rukavina, & Foster, 2013)

using humor (Li, Rukavina, & Foster, 2013)

communicating personal information (Powell & Seed,

2010)

developing relationships based on trust with students

(Velasquez, Graham, & Osguthorpe, 2013)

Interpersonal caring-compassion and respect

Teachers demonstrated respect by

treating students with dignity (Nieto, 2012).

empathizing with students’ frustrations (Jansen &

Bartell, 2013)

helping students overcome hardships (Li, Rukavina, &

Foster, 2013).

affirming students in a variety of ways (Li, Rukavina, &

Foster, 2013; Velasquez, Graham, & Osguthorpe, 2013).

Fairness/equity

Teachers demonstrated fairness and equity

by striving to meet the needs of ALL students by

giving students one-on-one attention and

individual feedback (Jansen & Bartell, 2013).

Teachers also used consistent responses to

respond to inappropriate student behavior

(Garrett, Barr, & Rothman (2009).

Conclusions relating to RQ1:

Academic Caring-Competence, Academic

Caring-Instructional Practices, and Interpersonal

Caring-Communication/Connectedness emerged as

the most practiced characteristics of pedagogical

caring.

Academic High Expecations, and

Fairness/Equity emerged as the least practiced

characteristics of pedagogical caring.

Findings for RQ 2

Confirmation

Confirmation emerged as the most

practiced component of caring classrooms.

Teachers confirmed students by

encouraging them (Li, Rukavina, & Foster, 2013)

and providing them with individualized attention

and feedback (Jansen & Bartell, 2013).

Modeling

Modeling emerged as the second most

practiced component of Noddings’ components

of caring classrooms.

Teachers modeled how to build supportive

relationships (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009).

Dialogue

Dialogue emerged as the third most

practiced component of caring classrooms.

Teachers used one-on-one conversations

to get to know students (O’Brien, 2010).

Teachers provided students with

opportunities to share learning with their

peers using gropu work (Rabin, 2010).

Practice

Practice emerged as the least practiced

component of caring classrooms.

Teachers provided students opportunities to

care for the classroom and the learning environment

(Boorn, Hopkins, Dunn, & Page, 2010).

One teacher provided students with an

opportunity to care for the Earth by building

compost bins (Noddings, 2005).

Conclusions relating to RQ2:

All four of Noddings’ (1984; 2002; 2005)

components of caring classrooms emerged in the

data, but teachers’ understanding of them did not

match Noddings’ conception of a caring classroom.

Noddings defined a caring classroom as a place

where developing students’ caring potential is equal

to them mastering their academic content.

Implications

Practical Implications

The findings from this study reveal ways

teachers can demonstrate pedagogical caring

to meet students’ emotional, academic, and

motivational needs. Create a sense of

belonging for students

(attends to students

emotional needs)

Create an environment

conducive for learning

by monitoring student

behavior

(attends to students

emotional , academic,

and motivational needs)

Scaffold student

learning with effective

strategies

(attends to students

motivational and

academic needs)

Recommendations

Future Research

Research that studies how teachers

express that they students are worthy of their

efforts and no more difficult to teach than any

other students (high expectations) would be

beneficial to research on pedagogical caring

and teacher effectiveness as well.

Future Research

A future study on how respect of students’

cultures relates to teachers’ pedagogical

caring practices of being fair and equitable

would be beneficial to research on pedagogical

caring.

Future Research

Future research on how teachers can

create classrooms that are fully aligned with

Noddings’ definition of caring classrooms

would be beneficial to helping schools combat

aggressive and violent behaviors occurring at

schools.

Future Research

Future research comparing how teachers

with many classroom disruptions demonstrate

pedagogical caring to teachers with few

classroom disruptions demonstrate

pedagogical caring would be beneficial to

literature on classroom management as well as

literature on pedagogical caring.

Future Practice

It is recommended that teachers use the

information in this study to develop an awareness of

their own caring behaviors and examine which ways

they demonstrate caring for their students.

The findings in this study provide a way for

administrators and teachers to evaluate teachers’

practice and their beliefs as they relate to

pedagogical caring.

Conclusion