This mixed methods study examined how middle school students (ages 11–13) in middle-class neighborhoods in Western Canada characterized a caring teacher. Specifically, qualitative content analysis was conducted on 199 sixth and seventh grade students’ written responses to the question “What are three things that teachers do to show they care?” Guided by recent work in the area of mindfulness in teaching, we identified 19 themes: one was categorized as General Teaching (e.g., “They teach”), and 18 that were grouped into one of three thematic categories associated with mindful teaching: Calm (e.g., calm/not reactive), Clear (e.g., democratic communication), and Kind (e.g., empathy). In their descriptions of caring teachers, almost all students (97.5%) used Kind themes, while many used Clear themes (41%); with fewer students using Calm (13.6%) or General Teaching (10.6%) themes. Chi square analyses revealed that girls were more likely to mention Clear themes compared to boys, while boys were more likely to use the specific themes of nurturance and helpfulness. Additional demographic differences were also explored. This research adds to the growing body of studies aimed at elucidating the role of mindful teaching in caring student-teacher relationships, particularly from the perspectives of early adolescents.

这项混合方法研究调查了加拿大西部中产阶级社区的中学生（11-13 岁）如何描述一位有爱心的老师。具体来说，我们对 199 名六年级和七年级学生对“教师为了表示关心而做了哪三件事？”这一问题的书面回答进行了定性内容分析。以最近在正念教学领域的工作为指导，我们确定了 19 个主题：一个被归类为一般教学（例如，“他们教”），18 个被归类为与正念教学相关的三个主题类别之一：平静（例如，冷静/不被动）、清晰（例如，民主沟通）和友善（例如，同理心）。在他们对爱心教师的描述中，几乎所有学生（97.5%）都使用了亲切主题，而许多学生使用了清晰主题（41%）；使用平静 (13.6%) 或一般教学 (10.6%) 主题的学生较少。卡方分析显示，与男孩相比，女孩更有可能提到明确的主题，而男孩则更有可能使用养育和乐于助人的特定主题。还探讨了其他人口统计学差异。这项研究增加了越来越多的研究，旨在阐明正念教学在关爱师生关系中的作用，特别是从早期青少年的角度。