Nel Noddings's ethic of care, first developed in her 1984 book Caring, proposes that caring relations rather than abstract moral principles are the proper foundation of ethics and of education. Caring is framed as relational: receptivity and engrossment toward the cared-for, with motivational displacement toward their needs, rather than a virtue an individual possesses alone. In schooling it argues for organizing education around the cultivation and modeling of caring relationships between teachers and students, not solely around content transmission. It stands beside Carol Gilligan's work as a founding line of care ethics.
Facts
Disputed
Core ClaimEthical behavior and good education arise from and are sustained by caring relations between people rather than from applying abstract impartial moral principles. 1 Critics have questioned the original maternal framing as potentially essentialist, which Noddings answered by holding caring is not gender-restricted; others press on reciprocity within unequal teacher-student relations, and on whether the approach covertly relies on the principles it claims to move past. It is influential in moral education while remaining one position within a developing field. Cross-Tradition Connections
Developed By
In Approach
Care theory's person-centered relational emphasis sits within the humanist line in education.
Sources
1. infed, the encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education
Nel Noddings page, ethics of care sectionQuote, Nel Noddings page, ethics of care section
a state of being in relation, characterized by receptivity, relatedness and engrossment
1. infed, the encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education
Nel Noddings page, critique sectionQuote, Nel Noddings page, critique section
Issues of time, intensity and situational variations also have to be worked out, as do questions of what it means to care for non-human entities such as plants, animals, ideas and organizations.
1. infed, the encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education
Nel Noddings page, Caring 1984Quote, Nel Noddings page, Caring 1984
Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education, 1984 and 2013.
1. infed, the encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education
Nel Noddings page, field namingQuote, Nel Noddings page, field naming
Nel Noddings is closely identified with the promotion of the ethics of care.
1. infed, the encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education
Developed By: Nel Noddings, Nel Noddings page, attributionQuote, Developed By: Nel Noddings, Nel Noddings page, attribution
Nel Noddings (1929-2022) made a significant contribution to our appreciation of education.
1. infed, the encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education
In Approach: Humanism, Nel Noddings page, orientationQuote, In Approach: Humanism, Nel Noddings page, orientation
Natural caring, such as that of a mother for a child, according to Nel Noddings, comes before ethical caring and is preferable to it.
1. infed, the encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education
In Category: Learning Theory and Concepts, Nel Noddings pageQuote, In Category: Learning Theory and Concepts, Nel Noddings page
Nel Noddings is closely identified with the promotion of the ethics of care.
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