ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7280-0950

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Education (Ph.D)

Department

Curriculum and Instruction

First Advisor

Mary Beth Schaefer

Second Advisor

Nancy Morabito

Third Advisor

Elizabeth Chase

Abstract

This narrative inquiry study explored high school teachers’ perceptions of care in the classroom. The researcher gained insight into teachers’ perceptions of care by collecting data from semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, surveys, and participant discussions. The researcher used Noddings’s (1984) ethic of care as a heuristic for analysis to explore how teachers perceive and enact care for students. Participants engaged in collaborative discussion as members of a professional learning community (PLC) to explore their own experiences with care. The interview, observation, and PLC discussion data presented the following unique approaches to care: (1) care as being responsive to student needs, (2) care as creating a supportive classroom space, (3) care as compassion for student experience, (4) care through listening, (5) care through high expectations to foster student responsibility, (6) care by supporting accessibility, (7) care through approachability and (8) care through skill building. The three major themes that connect all four participants’ perceptions of care were: (1) relational attentiveness and relationship-building through dialogue, (2) supplies and routine as evidence of responsiveness and modeling, and (3) questioning to support student autonomy. This study used narrative inquiry to show how teachers that care are inherently responsive to student needs and engage in practices that support student success. This study has implications for teacher education, in-service teacher professional development, and school policies related to care.

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