The Middle School Child's Perceptions of Caring Teachers

Abstract

Caring fosters emotional and intellectual growth of students. This study presents sixth-grade students' perceptions of teacher behaviors they interpret as caring. An ethnographic technique of open-ended written responses was used with students from ethnically diverse schools in the metropolitan New York City area. The analysis of the responses indicated demographic differences. Student's perceptions of caring differ by ethnicity and sex. Teacher awareness of such differences is important to develop and maintain mutual receptivity within the classroom and to maximize student social and emotional growth.