Date of Award

Spring 2025

Project Type

Dissertation

Department

Education

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

First Advisor

Todd A. DeMitchell

Second Advisor

Josepth Onosko

Third Advisor

Winston C. Thompson

Abstract

Students' voices are essential to understanding their perceptions, experiences, and viewson care. Many schools prioritize standardized test outcomes over individual care for each child, which leads to disengagement and a lack of agency. Students who feel cared for tend to achieve greater success in school.

This question guided the inquiry: How do students perceive, experience, and understandcare in their secondary school in New Hampshire? Twelve individual interviews were conducted with students who had varying degrees of academic success and special education identification.

The findings led to the development of a preliminary model of care that establishesschool culture as the foundation for students’ perceptions, experiences, and understanding of care. The four essential components of school culture that are critical for ensuring that students feel cared for include meaningful student-teacher relationships, school structures that serve as catalysts for care, specific teacher actions, and teacher pedagogical decisions.

These foundation elements created an experience of care that aligned with Nel Nodding’sEthic of Care. The students felt that the teachers knew them, made decisions with their goals in mind, and attributed the best possible motive to their actions. In addition, these students were able to recognize and acknowledge the teacher’s actions as caring.

The final stage of the model is based on the student’s immersion in the school culture andtheir experience of care. The student comments indicated a sense of agency, showing that they mattered at Sunshine High School. The students were more than mere recipients of knowledge; they were engaged participants in their education.

This exploratory study adds to the research literature regarding the student experience ofcare in a public high school by presenting a model based on the collection and analysis of student voices.

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