Teacher Caring Through the Eyes of Sixth Grade Girls

Sixth grade girls 1

Running head: CARING THROUGH THE EYES OF SIXTH GRADE GIRLS

Brandelyn Tosolt

Northern Kentucky University

254 BEP Center

Northern Kentucky University

Highland Heights, KY 41099

859-572-1979 (phone)

859-572-6096 (fax) [email protected] Sixth grade girls 2

Teacher Caring Through the Eyes of Sixth Grade Girls

One factor in a classroom is the relationship between a teacher and students. If this relationship is a caring relationship, students benefit academically and socially (e.g. Birch &

Ladd, 1997; Crosnoe, Johnson & Elder, 2004). However, it is possible that not all students view the same behaviors as evidence of teacher caring. It is important to understand what behaviors students view as caring, so that teachers are aware of behaviors that allow students to receive the benefits of a caring teacher-student relationship. In order for a student to receive these benefits, both the teacher and student must consider the relationship caring.

In order for a caring interaction to occur, all those involved in the interaction must consider it caring (Noddings, 2005). According to Noddings, care is not an individual trait or virtue, but the state of a relationship. “A caring relation [sic] is, in its most basic form, a connection or encounter between two human beings – a carer and a recipient of care, or cared- for” (p. 15, emphasis in the original). For Noddings, both parties must contribute to caring. If one party does not participate, there is still a relationship, but it is not a caring one. Because caring exists only in a relationship between two people, it is an aspect of communication. If care is intended but is not perceived on both the parts of the carer and cared-for, or in schools, on both the parts of the teacher and student, then a miscommunication has occurred, resulting in the absence of a caring encounter.

Because the completion of a caring encounter depends on the perceptions of students, the purpose of this research is to learn more about students’ perceptions of what constitutes caring teacher beahavior. The research question framing this study is “What behaviors do girls perceive as caring teacher behaviors?” Sixth grade girls 3

I developed a survey containing 50 behaviors. Participants were asked to rate each of these behaviors on a 4-point modified Likert scale, demonstrating agreement with each behavior as evidence of a caring teacher. I used principle components factor analyses to determine which behaviors went together and found six categories of caring teacher behaviors (Tosolt, 2008). I then used the demographic information provided by the students to analyze perceptions of caring teacher behaviors by students’ gender. Once my data were gathered, I used mean scores to locate differences in responses on individual items based on students’ gender.

I conducted my research in seven middle-level schools located in a single county in a mid-western state. This county contained urban, suburban, and rural student populations. There was an average student response rate of 61.6%, equaling 825 total sixth-grade participants. Of those participants, 450 self-identified as girls. Of these 250 girls, 6% self-identified as Native

American, 12% self-identified as Asian, 13.5% self-identified as African American or Black,

6.3% self-identified as Hispanic, 8% self-identified as Middle Eastern, and 71% self-identified as

White or Caucasian. Students were asked to indicate multiracial identity by choosing more than one category, so the percentages exceed 100.

There are 16 behaviors that received a mean score of at least 3.50 from girls, indicating agreement with the choice “A caring teacher would do this.” These behaviors are shown in Table

1. When I looked at these 16 items thematically, I found that items from the categories

“supporting high standards,” “uses engaging teaching techniques,” “individualizing instruction,”

“offering emotional support” and “fairness caring” were represented. However, none of the behaviors falling into the category “uses engaging interpersonal behaviors” received a mean score of at least 3.50, demonstrating that behaviors such as hugging a student, greeting a student warmly, and smiling at a student may not be viewed by sixth grade girls as evidence of a caring Sixth grade girls 4 teacher.

I then compared the number of behaviors in a category to the number of behaviors in that category that received a mean score of 3.50 to see which categories of behaviors were most important to these sixth grade girls. There were seven behaviors in the category “supporting high standards.” Of those seven behaviors, the girls gave a mean score of 3.50 to four behaviors, indicating that 57% of the possible “supporting high standards” behaviors were seen as caring by theses sixth grade girls. The comparison of the number of possible behaviors in each category to the number of behaviors chosen as evidence of caring by the girls is shown in Table 2.

As Table 2 indicates, these sixth grade girls seemed most concerned about behaviors that might help them to achieve academically. At the opposite end of the spectrum, these sixth grade girls seemed least concerned about behaviors that might help them form positive interpersonal relationships with their teachers. Together, these findings may indicate that girls are less concerned with seeing their teachers as friendly and welcoming and more concerned with obtaining information and excelling academically.

This does not mean, however, that teachers should not take the time to build relationships with girls. Instead, this research suggests that girls may be motivated enough to respond to calls for harder work and greater achievement in academics without them being presented in a more socially-desirable manner. While girls may still like being treated in nice ways, girls may need these relationships in order to be pushed to greater academic achievement. Overall, the findings of this research indicate that teachers need to be willing to learn about and adapt to what their students believe is evidence of a caring teacher if teachers wish to complete caring relationships with their students. Sixth grade girls 5

Table 1

Behaviors that received a mean score of 3.50 or above. Behavior Category assigns work that I sometimes think might be too hard, but Supporting High Standards encourages or helps me with it encourages me to become the best student that I can be Supporting High Standards encourages me to keep trying when I’m feeling discouraged Supporting High Standards gets involved when other students are being mean to one Fairness Caring another gives me work that fits the way that I learn best Individualizing Instruction helps me when other kids are picking on me Offering Emotional Support listens to all sides of the story before he or she decides what to Fairness Caring do about a problem listens to my side of the story Fairness Caring makes school feel like another home Offering Emotional Support makes sure I understand the directions Uses Engaging Teaching Techniques makes sure most of the students understand a lesson before he Individualizing Instruction or she moves on to something new really listens to me when I’m speaking Uses Engaging Teaching Techniques says I can talk to her or him about anything if I need to Offering Emotional Support sets aside time to give me individual help Individualizing Instruction uses examples to help me understand what he or she is Uses Engaging Teaching teaching Techniques writes helpful comments on my papers Supporting High Standards

Table 2 Sixth grade girls 6

Percentage of possible behaviors chosen as caring within categories of caring. No. mean

equal or

Category No. items above 3.50 Percent Supporting High Standards 7 4 57% Fairness Caring 7 3 43% Individualizing Instruction 8 3 38% Offering Emotional Support 9 3 33% Uses Engaging Teaching Techniques 9 3 33% Uses Engaging Interpersonal Behaviors 10 0 0%

References

Birch, S. H., & Ladd, G. W. (1997). The teacher-child relationship and children’s early school

adjustment. Journal of School Psychology, 35(1), 61-79.

Crosnoe, R., Johnson, M. K., & Elder, G. H., Jr. (2004). Intergenerational bonding in school: The

behavioral and contextual correlates of student-teacher relationships. Sociology of

Education, 77(1), 60-81.

Noddings, N. (2005). The challenge to care in schools: An alternative approach to education (2nd

ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.

Tosolt, B. (2008). Middle school students’ perceptions of caring teacher behaviors: An

empirical examination by student minority status. Unpublished doctoral dissertation,

Oakland University, Rochester, MI.