Moral care and caring pedagogy: two dimensions of teachers’praxis

This paper draws on findings from an empirical study on the epistemic nature of teachers’ practice. It particularly addresses teachers’ reasoning that lies behind their practice in order to gain insight into the epistemic weights embedded in the teachers’ practice. Drawing on qualitative data gathered from six class teachers in Helsinki in two academic years, the research identified that the concept of ‘care’ is at the core of the teachers’ reasoning. Moral care and caring pedagogy were found to be two significant examples of the teachers’ care, and that each of these were sustained through epistemological values. This paper discusses how epistemic weights associated with the teachers’ care as a philosophical base serve to clarify the normative dimension of teaching, thus demonstrating how teaching can be praxis.