Students as apprentices in caring: I-Thou relationships as experienced by early adolescents in school

A review of the literature revealed that early adolescents lack opportunities and experiences of caring for others. This study examined how sixth grade students conceptualized and experienced caring relationships at a school that promoted an ethic of caring. Based on Buber's (1958) I-Thou framework and Noddings' (1984, 1992) model of caring relationships, three research questions guided the study: (1) How do sixth grade students understand and experience caring relationships at school? (2) How does gender influence the ways students care for others? (3) How do the principal and teachers understand their role in promoting an ethic of caring at school?; Data were collected using interviews, participant observations, and document analysis. Sixteen students comprised the sample. A grounded theory emerged of how caring community was promoted, how students defined caring, and what motivated them to care for others at school. Results indicated that the school promoted an ethic of caring by identifying itself as a caring community and developing curricula and fostering relationships consistent with this vision. Students learned the adult rhetoric and became both recipients and co-creators of a caring community. Students defined caring as “helping”, “being respectful”, “inclusive”, “not being mean”, “confiding in” and “sticking up for others”. They were motivated to care based on concerns for their own self-preservation as well as altruistic regard for others, indicative of I-Thou relationships. Boys spoke of caring relationships in a hierarchical manner, yet interacted with peers in an egalitarian way. Girls conceptualized caring in a horizontal manner, yet were more concerned with issues of status in their interactions with others. This inquiry concluded that students, when provided with opportunities to interact with others outside their inner circle of friends, were capable of an empathetic regard for others and creating caring relationships at school.; This study adds to the literature on promoting an ethic of caring at school by: (1) eliciting students' perspectives on what it means to be a caring person, (2) acknowledging the role adolescent development plays on students' views, and (3) examining students' experiences in the context of the caring school community of which they are a part.