The Use of Digital Communication to Build Care and Relationships into the Post-Secondary Classroom: A SelfAnalysis of Discourse

Abstract

Relationships are central to teaching and learning in higher education contexts. Positive relationships between faculty and students can be built on ethics of care (Noddings, 2005). By increasing rhetorical awareness in online communication with students, faculty can reflect on how discourse forms may mask forms of care toward students (Blommaert, 2005). This study uses a selfanalysis of discourse to focus on how higher-education faculty uses technological tools to incorporate ethics of care into their relationships with students. In exploring the question "What themes of care can be present in digital discourse?" fourteen themes of care emerged from the data analysis. The findings offer considerations for discourse use and five tenets for building care into online communication with students.