![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
Caring has been discussed as foundational to developing quality physical activity settings that promote social and personal responsibility and are synonymous with effective teaching practice in physical education. However, how physical educators practice caring in the gym is unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how physical education teachers describe their experiences of caring in the classroom. Six middle school teachers, rated as caring by students, were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Inductive content analysis was used to cluster the raw data quotes into thematic categories which were compared and contrasted to insure uniqueness among the emergent themes. Three overarching themes emerged focusing on 1) being in relation including lower order themes of developing relationships, encouraging/developing caring, and creating connections, 2) creating an inclusive and accepting environment including lower order themes of respecting and trusting students, creating a safe and accepting place, treating students fairly, and being inclusive, and 3) empowering students including lower order themes of supporting development, engaging in caring discipline, and promoting ownership. Results support previous work in the caring literature and further inform practitioners how to work toward developing caring within their own physical activity setting.
References
|
Armour, KM, Jones, RL (1998) Physical Education Teachers’ Lives and Careers: PE, Sport, and Educational Status. London, UK: Falmer Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Battistich, V, Watson, M, Solomon, D (1999) Beyond the three R’s: A broader agenda for school reform. Elementary School Journal 99: 415–431. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Cohen, J (2006) Social, emotional, ethical, and academic education: Creating a climate for learning, participation in democracy, and well-being. Harvard Educational Review 76: 201–237. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Gano-Overway, LA (2013) Exploring the connections between caring and social behaviors in physical education. Research Quarterly for Exercise & Sport 84(1), 104–114. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Gilligan, C (1993) In a Different Voice. Psychological Theory and Women’s Development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published in 1982). Google Scholar | |
|
Gordon, S, Benner, P, Noddings, N (1996) Caregiving: Readings in Knowledge, Practice, Ethics, and Politics. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Hellison, D (2011) Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility through Physical Activity (3rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Google Scholar | |
|
Hellison, D, Cutforth, N, Kallusky, J (2000) Youth Development and Physical Activity: Linking Universities and Communities. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Google Scholar | |
|
Kvale, S, Brinkmann, S (2009) InterViews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing. Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
Larson, A, Silverman, SJ (2005) Rationales and practices used by caring physical education teachers. Sport, Education and Society 10: 175–193. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
McCaughtry, N (2005) Elaborating pedagogical content knowledge: What it means to know students and think about teaching. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice 11: 379–395. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
McCuaig, LA (2012) Dangerous carers: Pastoral power and the caring teacher of contemporary Australian schooling. Educational Philosophy and Theory 44: 862–877. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Mercado, CI (1993) Caring as empowerment: School collaboration and community agency. The Urban Review 25: 79–104. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Newton, M, Fry, M, Watson, D (2007a) Psychometric properties of the Caring Climate Scale in a physical activity setting. Revista del Psicologia del Deporte 16: 67–84. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Newton, M, Watson, DL, Gano-Overway, L (2007b) The role of a caring-based intervention in a physical domain. The Urban Review 39: 281–299. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Noblit, GW, Rogers, DL, McCadden, BM (1995) In the meantime: The possibilities of caring. Phi Delta Kappan 76: 680–685. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Noddings, N (1992) The Challenge to Care in Schools: An Alternative Approach to Education. New York, NY: Teacher College Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Noddings, N (2002) Educating Moral People: A Caring Alternative to Character Education. New York, NY: Teacher College Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Noddings, N (2003) Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. Berkeley: University of California Press. (Original work published in 1984). Google Scholar | |
|
Noddings, N (2010) The Maternal Factor: Two Paths to Morality. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Owens, LM, Ennis, CD (2005) The ethic of care in teaching: An overview of supportive literature. Quest 57: 392–425. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Patton, MQ (2002) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Google Scholar | |
|
Reeves, J (2006) Teachers as facilitators: What autonomy-supportive teachers do and why their students benefit. The Elementary School Journal 106: 225–236. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Rogers, D, Webb, J (1991) The ethic of caring in teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education 42: 173–181. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Stuhr, PT, Sutherland, S, Ward, P (2011) Care enacted by two elementary physical education teachers and their students. International Journal of Human Movement Science 5: 5–28. Google Scholar | |
|
Tarlow, B (1996) Caring: A negotiated process that varies. In: Gordon, S, Benner, P, Noddings, N (eds) Caregiving: Readings in Knowledge, Practice, Ethics, and Politics. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 56–82. Google Scholar | |
|
Watson, M (2008) Developmental discipline and moral education. In: Nucci, LP, Narvaez, D (eds) Handbook of Moral and Character Education. New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 175–203. Google Scholar |
