The contributors to this book tap into an important, but largely unexamined perspective: examining how social structures and relationships within schools help to define, enable, or constrain an ethic of care.

This sociological, critical perspective is used to examine K–12 schooling, focusing upon grounded qualitative studies of student groups currently and/or historically considered marginal or for whom school presents significant barriers (i.e., African Americans and Hispanics; gays and lesbians; and women). The authors have grappled with the difficulties and opportunities presented by considering multiple perspectives of caring and what that means to those living within schools.