The call to teach and the ethics of care: a dynamic educational crossroads

Abstract

ABSTRACT This philosophical and field-based article draws together two conceptions of teaching that have not been linked, as yet, in the scholarly literature: teaching as a calling or vocation, and teaching as the enactment of care ethics. We draw upon Hansen’s extensive work on calling and juxtapose it with Quek’s recent work on care ethics in teaching. While differences exist between the concepts calling and caring, with respect to the work of a teacher, we conclude that no adequate account of the practice can do without them.