Nel Noddings on Care Ethics and Pedagogy: Re-Imagining Education. Presentation by Maurice Hamington

Nel Noddings on Care Ethics and Pedagogy:
Re
imagining Education
A presentation for the Department of Educational Studies
Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Bihar, Inda
February 3, 2023
by Maurice Hamington

From its inauspicious beginnings as a critique of Western ethical theories from a feminist perspective in the 1980s, care ethics has become a worldwide and multi-disciplinary phenomenon. Today, one can find scholarly publications adapting and advancing care theory in anthropology, business, economics, education, health care, literature, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology, and more. In addition, care ethics graduate programs, journals, book series, and academic conferences have been developed. Professor Emerita Nel Noddings of Stanford University is one of the foremothers of care theory. Still, she may not have imagined how attractive the subject would become when she wrote Caring in 1984. Noddings has also been one of the most prolific care theorists who has published extensively on care ethics as well as care in education.
This presentation addresses the intellectual legacy of Noddings with a particular focus on care in education. The lecture begins with background into her life and work. An explanation of her theory of care is followed by a discussion of her ideas regarding infusing care into education. Topics include care and curriculum, pedagogy, and classroom culture. The presenter, Maurice Hamington, also notes how Noddings has influenced his work and ideas. In particular, he suggests that Noddings’ writings have much to offer educators who seek to guide students toward making the world more caring. Contemporary concern that we are living through a “crisis of care” makes attending to Noddings’ ideas all the more pertinent.