Caring-for-self, which originates from the concepts of Foucault and Noddings, explores the self-concept, self-discovery, self-performance, and self-shaping. This study investigated the current status of undergraduate caring-for-self and explored the differences in caring-for-self of undergraduates with diverse backgrounds. In total, 1,361 undergraduates participated in this study, which used the Caring-for-Self Inventory for Undergraduates as a valid and reliable instrument. The data obtained were statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics and a multivariate analysis of variance. The caring-for-self of the undergraduates surveyed was categorized into 5 dimensions: career, learning, spiritual, physical, and recreational. Among the 5 dimensions, the spiritual dimension was the most cared-for dimension of undergraduates, likely because of the influence of the Sunflower Student Movement which provided active discussion environment for undergraduates. Significant differences in undergraduate caring-for-self were observed for factors of grade, gender, religion, school location, and college. However, school sponsor and socioeconomic status factors revealed no significant difference on students’ caring-for-self. Compared with Noddings’s 4 vital concerns of peoples’ caring-for-self, undergraduate caring-for-self in this study contains an additional learning dimension and excludes religion from the spiritual dimension. The added learning dimension indicated the salient role of undergraduates, whereas the absence of religion from the spiritual dimension may result from the cultural differences between the United States and Taiwan. This study offers 4 suggestions for undergraduates, educators, and university administrators and further researches respectively.
|