Rationales and practices used by caring physical education teachers

Abstract

This paper examines the reasons that physical education teachers exhibited caring behaviors during teaching. Four physical education teachers, identified as caring physical education teachers, were formally and informally interviewed and observed teaching. Data were analyzed using content analysis and inductive coding, and three themes emerged. The teachers (a) share similar beliefs about why it is important to be caring and had similar influences on their teaching conduct, (b) similarly believe that physical activity/physical education makes a difference in the lives of youth, and (c) share a common interest in broadening relationships with students. The results suggest that there are common reasons these caring teachers care for their students—in particular, personal biography seems to be a strong influence—and that more studies are needed to examine further these results and the relationship between the concept of caring and teaching.