Caring Relationships: Perspectives from Middle School Students

Framed by the theory of symbolic interactionism, this year-long interpretive study examined the meanings of care to middle school students. Five themes emerged from the data: care as control, equality, forgiveness, concern, and good teaching. These findings indicated not only some agreement between students and teachers on meanings and symbolic acts of care but also individualization tied to students' unique personal experiences. Implications address the need to know students beyond their roles in the classroom, to provide personalized attention for students, to use attentive pedagogy, to engage in dialogue with students about care itself, and to continue to transform middle schools into places where students feel cared for by teachers and others.