1. BY: AVRIL M. EL-AMIN
MARCH 24, 2015
DR. KRISTINE QUADE, CHAIR
DR. DONNA GRAHAM, CONTENT
DR. TERRY HALFHILL, METHODS
GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY
A Descriptive Case Study: How
Teachers Understand and
Demonstrate Caring
2. 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).
3. 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).
4. 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.
5. 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
7. 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?
8. 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?
10. 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.
11. 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).
12. 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.
13. 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)
14. 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).
15. 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).
16. 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.
18. 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).
19. 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).
20. 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).
21. 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).
22. 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.
24. 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)
26. 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.
27. 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.
28. 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.
29. 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.
30. 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.
