This paper explores how the concept of caring relates to the pedagogical imagination of North American and Argentinean preservice teachers. It is guided by the assumption that pedagogical imaginations about schooling, manifested in the form of spoken, written, and drawn expressions, metaphors, and images, may help in the process of grasping students' ideas about caring and their sensitivities and inclinations. Section 1 reviews the works of Nel Noddings, who developed an extensive framework around the concept of caring and its pedagogical values. Section 2 presents the methods used in this project. Weekly classroom observations of 10 groups of Argentinean and American preservice elementary teachers were conducted over 6 months. Faculty, administrators, and students were interviewed, and students completed questionnaires. The researcher observed workshops in which students explored pedagogical imaginations. Sections 3 and 4 report results and conclusions. Many participants in both countries imagined ideal classrooms in traditional patterns. Their ideal classroom was mainly a response to their diagnosis of current classrooms as chaotic spaces deeply embedded in gender dynamics. The notions of caring derived from Noddings' framework were very close to the functions of caring in the pedagogical imagination of preservice teachers in both countries. (Contains 34 references.) (SM)