Is student wellbeing better served by an ethic of care or a duty of care? A perspective on the current debate in English higher educational establishments

Concern for the well-being of UK higher education students is highlighted by the tragic number of student suicides. In response, in England there have been calls for a statutory duty of care to be imposed upon universities, which is currently being resisted. In a recent debate in the UK Parliament, the Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships, and Higher Education said, “this government does not believe that [a statutory duty of care] is the most effective way to improve outcomes for students” and argued that a general duty of care already exists in common law. Yet it is not clear, in the current formulation, how the implementing of such a duty could be effective, for it is wholly dependent upon staff will, competence, and capability—all attributes of an ethics of care. Moreover, there is no call for an ethics of care even given the inconsistencies in practice within the sector. In these circumstances there seems no doubt that care ought to be provided but without a clarification of the nature of this, it is not clear if an institutional duty or a care ethics is required. This clarification is attempted by drawing a distinction between the ontic and ontological phenomenon of duty and ethics of care.

This manuscript was accepted for publication in The International Journal of Health, Wellness, and Society, published on 30 September 2024 at https://doi.org/10.18848/2156-8960/CGP/v14i03/31-43.