Building Bridges - Don Parker

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       { CHAPTER 2 }

       Show That You Care

      Unfortunately, there is a lack of empirical research that addresses how teachers can develop positive and caring relationships with students (Murray & Greenburg, 2006). The field of education needs systematic inquiry into how teachers establish and maintain positive, caring relationships with students (Woolfolk-Hoy & Weinstein, 2006). If students are going to reach their full academic potential, teachers and administrators must establish relationships with them and foster a nurturing climate by exhibiting behaviors that students perceive as warm and caring.

      Many teachers enter the profession because they care about students and want to use their skills to help their students succeed academically. Most educators also share a genuine concern for the well-being of children and enjoy working with them. We are all expected to conduct ourselves in a caring manner and display caring behaviors. However, some of us need to improve our ability to see things from a student’s perspective rather than always from our own, elder vantage point.

      In this chapter, we will explore what the research says about providing a caring environment in the classroom, how that caring environment plays out in the real world, as well as questions for reflection and action steps you can take to ensure students know you care about them.

      The National Association of Elementary School Principals defines school climate as the feelings and attitudes a school environment elicits (Loukas, 2007). Although the concept of school climate is difficult to put into words, “most researchers agree that it is a multidimensional construct that includes physical, social, and academic dimensions” (Loukas, 2007, p. 1). This includes how students, staff, and community interact with each other and the approaches they use to solve problems in school (Nor & Roslan, 2009). Research reveals four strategies that teachers can keep in mind to help students know that they care: (1) take a learner-centered approach, (2) display caring behaviors, (3) use a responsive classroom approach, and (4) be aware of the effects of students feeling disconnected.

       Learner-Centered Approach

      Researchers have determined what teacher behaviors students perceive to be warm and caring (Cornelius-White, 2007; King & Chan, 2011; Larkins-Strathy & LaRocco, 2007). Certain teacher behaviors are beneficial on multiple fronts with the two most significant being establishing relationships and supporting students to achieve academically. Jeffrey Cornelius-White (2007) conducted an in-depth study and reviewed about 1,000 articles to synthesize 119 studies from 1948 to 2004 with 1,450 findings and 355,325 students. The study identifies eight broad teacher-student relationship variables: (1) nondirectivity, (2) empathy, (3) warmth, (4) encouragement of higher-order thinking, (5) encouragement of learning, (6) adaptation to differences, (7) genuineness, and (8) learner-centered beliefs. He concludes that learner-centered teacher variables have above-average associations with positive student outcomes and advocates that teachers and administrators work to increase the awareness and practice of positive learner-centered relationships (Cornelius-White, 2007).

      This study has significant importance to building teacher-student relationships because it encourages educators to be more learner centered in their practices. A learner-centered approach refers to a wide variety of educational programs, learning experiences, instructional approaches, and academic-support strategies that address the learning needs, interests, aspirations, or cultural backgrounds of individual students and groups of students (Cornelius-White, 2007).

      To build positive teacher-student relationships, educators must hone in on students’ perceptions, become more familiar with what students need from them, and then intentionally plan to provide it (Weimer, 2018). This undertaking will guide educators’ actions and yield positive results because they will know exactly what to do to build strong relationships with their students. Teachers who are aware of what students perceive as warm and caring can be intentional at setting goals to display this behavior and aim their efforts to hit these targets.

       Caring Behaviors

      Patricia C. King and Tak Cheung Chan’s (2011) study examines both students’ and teachers’ perceptions of teachers’ caring behaviors. They describe caring behaviors such as patience, persistence, facilitation, validation, and empowerment, and they cite other researchers who list caring behaviors such as trust, respect, connection, and support (Nieto, 2004). King and Chan (2011) find that out of twenty-two behaviors that teachers and students responded to on their survey, only four did not show significant differences of perception:

      Teachers’ and students’ perceptions were similar on certain attributes of a caring teacher, such as teachers who (1) make time for students before and after school, (2) provide students with ‘treats and goodies’ on special occasions, (3) joke around with students, and (4) ask students to help with classroom tasks. (p. 18)

      I encourage teachers to be cognizant of students’ perceptions and challenge them to increase relationship building by consciously displaying some of these behaviors—apart from joking around with students. In keeping with the context, it is beneficial for students to see their teachers and administrators being lighthearted when appropriate. But some students may attempt to take advantage or blur the line when authority figures joke around.

      That said, teachers and administrators should ask their students what their perceptions are about how educators can display that they care. Educators can be most effective demonstrating caring behaviors when students perceive those behaviors as being warm and caring. “Students at risk are likely to perceive their teachers as caring when they engage in simple pedagogical practices such as offering help, being mindful of perceptions of fairness, and taking extra time when explaining complex subject matter” (Corso, Bundick, Quaglia, & Haywood, 2013, p. 56). Students at risk who I work with echo these same sentiments. These teacher behaviors also are likely to lead to increased student engagement. The “degree to which the student-teacher relationship supports a student’s engagement rests upon the student’s sense that the teacher is available, concerned, impartial, and respectful” (Corso et al., 2013, p. 56). When students at risk perceive their teachers to be warm and caring, they seem to make more of an effort to achieve in class and reciprocate respect.

      Beth K. Larkins-Strathy and Diana J. LaRocco (2007) discuss the effect that caring teachers have on prosocial behavior and academic achievement. They found that students achieve at higher levels when they are in educational environments characterized as caring. Making caring connections is a way that schools can provide high-quality education and produce high-achieving students. Students who perceive their teachers as caring have higher levels of motivation, effort, participation, and engagement.

      But what is caring? Students describe caring as creating an environment of respect, empathy, fairness, and acceptance, where they are free to make mistakes. Teachers surveyed in this study responded that having high expectations and helping students to develop self-control, personal responsibility, and other behaviors lead to higher academic performance and better school-related attitudes (Larkins-Strathy & LaRocco, 2007). Teachers also shared the importance of supporting students in meeting standards by providing them with extra assistance, motivation, and accountability (Larkins-Strathy & LaRocco, 2007).

       Responsive Classroom Approach

      The Northeast Foundation for Children created a social-emotional learning intervention to promote teachers being warm, caring, and supportive “to create classroom environments conducive to children’s social, emotional and academic growth” (Baroody et al., 2014, p. 69). The foundation refers to these strategies as the responsive classroom (RC) approach. These RC strategies include:

      • Leading daily morning meetings

      • Teaching students the specific skills they need to participate successfully

      • Treating mistakes in a positive way

      • Using positive language

      • Teaching in ways that build excitement about learning

      • Giving

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