Building a caring community in teacher education

Abstract

We developed and implemented the Caring Community Model (CCM) in teacher education in order to create meaningful relationships in a safe and supportive environment. Preservice teachers who were participants in this qualitative study reported that they cared more about other group members, considered themselves to be members of a family, had shared values, generally practiced the principles of the CCM, and developed personal strength to manage a variety of situations. We propose that using this model to nurture caring attributes in preservice teachers—and thereby influence caring in PreK‐16 classrooms—can help overcome the personal, family, ethnic, and class problems that often get in the way of effective teaching, learning, and living.