Background/Purpose This ethnographic research described two physical education teachers' efforts to create and maintain caring environments that nurtured and sustained student growth. Noddings' Ethic of Care was the theoretical framework that guided this research.
Method Data included observations, written questionnaires, and interviews with two teachers, Tim and Sharon, and a representative sample of twenty-one of their 6th grade students. Teacher interviews were semi-structured, focusing on teachers' philosophies. Student interviews documented students' awareness of teachers' perspectives and impressions of physical education. All 6th graders in these two schools (N = 120) completed written questionnaires, eliciting their impressions of and recommendations for physical education. Data were analyzed using open and axial coding, resulting in the identification of categories and themes across the three data sources.
Analysis/Results The findings indicated that teachers demonstrated different perspectives or “faces of care” toward their students. Although Tim cared that his students learned skills and sport, his controlling strategies used to create an environment of “seriousness” and high expectations were perceived by some students as “good for us,” while others “felt scared” and intimidated by his forcefulness. Conversely, Shannon used more traditional and supportive characteristics of caring, such as engrossment and commitment, to convey a sense of care more consistent with the traditional Noddings' Ethic of Care.
Conclusions Although both teachers wanted their students to engage and learn, students' perceptions varied based on the nature of the climate they created in their classes. Thus, the teachers presented two different “faces of caring” to their students.