Chapter 2: Ethics of care for 21st-century South African educators

For educators who are concerned with the holistic development of their learners, knowledge construction is one of the multiple dimensions for the development of well-rounded individuals. In addition to their educator responsibilities, they have a duty to assist learners to develop as well-mannered and moral individuals and future citizens who are responsible. In addition, especially in the South African context, there is a myriad of ethical concerns that educators and the education system are confronted with that require serious moral deliberation. These issues range from systemic problems such as inadequate pit latrine infrastructure leading to the unnecessary deaths of children to the suicide of learners ascribed to alleged discriminatory treatment and bullying.

An ethics of care, as the name suggests, places ‘care’ at the centre of our ethical and educational deliberations. As a formal theory of ethics, it has had and continues to have considerable influence in the fields of medicine and education. This approach not only guides us in how to engage with life and one another but also informs the structuring of our institutions and communities. Thus, it is a moral theory of significant importance to education in the 21st century and beyond. An ethics of care would require educators to actually ‘care’ for their learners, take an interest in their well-being, as well as their development and participation in their education. Furthermore, it would require ‘care’ from educators in their field, consequently also addressing the practice of education. By making use of Noddings’ critique of care in education (Noddings 2005), it can be shown how a moral education for 21st-century South African educators is possible through an ethics of care by means of modelling care, promoting dialogue-framed education, practising care and confirming learners.